Jalapeños
THE PEPPER PANTRY

Dave DeWitt

Paperback:
Perfect bound, 69 pages, 5" x 8" 
ISBN 978-1-482597-97-4
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Amazon $6.95
Barnes & Noble $6.95

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About the Book

It’s one of the most popular chile peppers in the world, maybe the most famous ever, and the number of ways it can transform a meal—and be transformed—is endless.

Now, Dave DeWitt, the acknowledged Pope of Peppers, has harvested his decades of experience to create a mouth-watering combination of knowledge and delightful, delectable recipes.

The ways you can enjoy these delicious peppers are virtually infinite, and DeWitt knows them all: from breakfast through dinner and dessert; in sauces, soups, side dishes, and salads.

Planning them, growing them, preserving them, and—best of all—devouring them, jalapeños have never been so interesting and delicious as Dave DeWitt makes them here.

Preview

The jalapeño pepper was named for the town of Jalapa, Mexico, where it was originally marketed. It was not originally grown there but was imported from the surrounding regions. The pods are thick-walled, conical-shaped, dark green when immature with most turning red at maturity, and with high heat. The fruit skin may show a brown netting pattern called corkiness. This does not affect the flavor and is desirable in Mexico but not in the U.S. Because the thick fruit walls keep the pod from drying naturally on the plant, the mature red jalapeños are dried by smoking them over mesquite or another hardwood, and the product is called chipotle….

Jalapeños are one of the most famous chile peppers. They are instantly recognizable, and a considerable mythology has sprung up about them, particularly in Texas. The impetus for the popularity of jalapeños starts from a combination of their unique taste, their heat, and their continued use as a snack food….

John Espinosa of San Antonio, Texas, gulped his way into the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records by consuming an amazing twenty-nine jalapeño chiles in two minutes flat! Espinosa's record eclipsed by two the number of jalapeños swallowed by Joe Marquez of Roswell, New Mexico, in September 1987. But Braulio Ramirez earned the title of Jalapeño King at the 1992 Jalapeño Festival in Laredo, Texas, by consuming an astonishing 141 jalapeños in fifteen minutes. He barely beat out Jed Donahue, who consumed more than 150 jalapeños but was disqualified for vomiting. The current record for the most jalapeños eaten during the contest was set in 2011 by professional eater Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti at a very hot (and painful) 275 pickled jalapeños in eight minutes!

About the Author

If Dave DeWitt’s life were a menu, it would feature dishes as diverse as alligator stew and apple pie à la mode—not to mention the beloved chile peppers that have become the basic ingredient of so many of his projects and accomplishments.

Since starting out in the electronic media, Dave has built careers as a businessman, educator, administrator, producer, on-camera personality, author, and publisher. Currently, in addition to serving as CEO of Sunbelt Shows and co-producer of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, Dave is always busy sharing his chile pepper expertise in as wide a range of forums as possible.

Besides writing more than forty books (mostly on fiery foods but also including novels, food histories, and travel guides), Dave is publisher of the Fiery Foods & BBQ Super Site (at www.fiery-foods.com), and was a founder of Chile Pepper magazine and Fiery Foods & Barbecue magazine.

From his beginning as a radio announcer, Dave went on to own audio/video production companies for which he wrote, produced, and voiced hundreds of radio and television commercials. After moving to New Mexico in 1974, he wrote and hosted the “Captain Space” TV show which beat out both “Saturday Night Live” and “Star Trek” in its Saturday midnight time slot, and, in an entirely different sphere, curated the Albuquerque Museum’s 1984 exhibit Edward S. Curtis in New Mexico.

The interest in chile peppers and spicy foods that has helped make Dave one of the foremost authorities in the world has led to such best-sellers as The Whole Chile Pepper Book, The Pepper Garden, The Hot Sauce Bible, The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia, and The Spicy Food Lover’s Bible. His latest book on the subject is Chile Trivia.

As the ultimate testament to his fame and achievement, The New York Times has declared him to be “the Pope of Peppers.” Dave is an associate professor in Consumer and Environmental Sciences on the adjunct faculty of New Mexico State University, and also serves as chair of the Board of Regents of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.

Inside Jalapeños

Here’s a handy little book
devoted to the most famous
chile pepper of all time.
Inside, you will find:  

Part 1:
Jalapeños Described
• Jalapeño Varieties
• Growing Jalapeños
• Vitamins and the Thermo-Nutrient Principle
• Culinary Usage

Part 2:
Jalapeños in the Kitchen,
with 40 Recipes
• Preserving Jalapeños
• Salsas, Sauces, and Dressings
• Breakfast
• Appetizers, Soups, and Salads
• Main Dishes and Vegetarian Sides
• Breads
• A Drink and a Dessert

Part 3:
Resources
• Further Reading
• Seed and Plant Sources
• Chile Pepper Suppliers
• Online Hotshops