Korean Red Pepper Flakes/Powder

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    • #49426
      Orion
      Participant

      Hi there!

      I was just curious if anyone knows the exact peppers used for making Korean red pepper flakes/powder?

      I would like to buy some seeds and be able to make my own, rather than have to resort to being dependent on a store bought package of pepper flakes/powder.

      I’d like to make my own, because it’s more economical and more sustainable.

      So.. If you know what the peppers are called, please let me know!

      I’d prefer if you didn’t make a wild guess or give me substitutes. I don’t want a substitute. lol

      Alrighty, thank you! :)

    • #53515
      sirdanilot
      Member

      First hit on google, seriously:

      http://www.evergreenseeds.com/hotpehyki.html

      ” Matured red fruits are excellent for making dry peppers.”

      Although I would have absolutely no idea how to make red pepper powder (probably dry them in the sun if you live in a tropical climate, then grind in a blender?). I suppose this one would be a safe bet. Not too expensive either. So no, not a ‘wild guess’ here!

    • #53516
      Orion
      Participant

      Sirdanilot.. I have purchased seeds from Evergreen Seeds, as well as Kitazawa Seed Company, and etc for years. I’ve also traded seeds with people all over the world. Those peppers, are NOT the ones used for making kimchi. I know how to use Google, and if it were that simple, I would not have even asked this question here.

      This pepper that you linked to is also a HYBRID.. Which means that I can’t save seeds from it. Hybrids are two kinds of peppers cross bred, and if you saved the seeds & used them for the next year, they would *NOT* grow true to the originals.

      What I am looking for are heirloom peppers that Korean grandmother’s make their own red pepper flakes and powder from. A pepper seed that has been grown and passed down for generations. Something that is NOT a hybrid and NOT genetically modified. You *CAN* find these if you go to Korea & are at pepper festivals or you buy kimchi from old women or something. There’s several types of peppers that are used to make the powder & flakes. I want some of those.

      In other words, I’m fully aware of that pepper. I have purchased that pepper. I have grown that pepper. It is *NOT* the kind I’m looking for. It’s NOTHING like what I’m looking for.

      While I do appreciate your effort in searching, your answer did not help me at all, and I really don’t appreciate you acting like I don’t know how to use Google. I’m not an imbecile. Again, had it been that simple of a solution, I’d never have bothered asking in the first place.

      • #76424
        WillaCather
        Participant

        Orion – I think this might be what you’re looking for. The medium/ mild Korean capsicum annuum L.

        https://www.chileplants.com/search.aspx?ProductCode=CHIGOC

        GOCHUGARU – medium; Cayenne; 2.5 to 4.5 inches long by 0.5 to 0.75 inches wide; medium thin flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 24 to 30 inches tall; Mid Season (70-80 days); Uses: Powder; from Korea; to make kimchi; super sweet with a building heat; C.annuum.

        Almost all other seeds I’ve looked at are the HOT variety. I’m actually going to try to find seeds that are just “mild” as I bought pepper seeds that were listed as medium but the fruit was mostly hot.

        You last posted here in 2011, I was wondering if you’ve since had luck growing the Gochu pepper and making your own Gochugaru?

        I found another source here for “mid-heat”

        Cheongyang Gochu Chilli

        And Hot Heat:

        Hot Pepper, Korean (Organic)

        Other info:
        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618114000043

        Hope to hear from you!

      • #76428
        EvilGrin
        Participant

        I grew 2 of the chileplants Gochu plants last year. The powder is hotter than the Assi powder i buy. Flavor was fine for cooking but not quite as good for kimchi.



    • #53517
      Maangchi
      Keymaster

      Orion,

      It sounds like you are a gochu baksa! : ) I’m impressed!

      Gochu: chili peppers

      Baksa: PhD

      sirdanilot wanted to help you. “.. your answer did not help me at all, and I really don’t appreciate you acting like I don’t know how to use Google.”

      Even though it didn’t help you, I still think you should appreciate his or her time and effort to answer and the link. sirdanilot is one of my precious readers and so are you.

      I researched some websites and Korean websites for you this morning and found these.

      http://sustainableseedco.com/Korean-Dark-Green-Pepper-Seed.html

      I hope the seeds are the chili peppers you are looking for.

      And this is from a Korean blog

      http://blog.yahoo.com/_6QBJUAMJPSIWC6ETYQ2MFYDKQU/articles/483/date/201007

      It’s a very familiar scene for me because my grandmother used to harvest her gochu and dry them like that. I hope the photos on that blog give you an idea of what kind of chii pepper seeds you have to get.

      All of the websites say commonly gochu used in Korea is Capsicum annuum L. http://www.calantilles.com/capsicum_peppers.html

      I’m very excited about planting your own Korean chili peppers in your garden. Update us please, with what you find! It will be a big help for those in the same boat.

    • #76483
      WillaCather
      Participant

      @evilgrin – where did you get your seeds/chili plants? Are you growing Gochu hot or mild plant? In my research I’m finding 3 varieties – mild, mild/medium and hot seeds/plants.

      Did you order from chiliplants.com?

      I just put in order for the plants from chiliplants.com. I wrote them and they assure me fruit is mild which is what I’m looking for.

      • #76484
        WillaCather
        Participant

        Also – your fruit/chili’s are gorgeous! Are you drying and grinding for gochugaru?

    • #76513
      EvilGrin
      Participant

      The Gochu plants came from chileplants.com. They only had one variety. I sun dried them all. Mine were absolutely hotter than the Assi brand flakes. No doubt about it.

      If seeds are ok look at Kitazawa. Get Lady Hermit or Lady Choi. They should be a heirloom from Korea. Im pretty sure the Lady Choi is the milder of the two. Lady Hermit comes from Sunchang which is famous for making pepper paste.
      http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_hot_pepper.html

      The yellow and orange peppers in the pic are Aji Lemon Drop and Aji Cito from Peru. They are much hotter than Korean peppers. Really nice citrus flavor though. Just a little hotter than a serrano although the citos can get pretty hot occasionally.

    • #79581
      Dave@HappyAcres
      Participant

      This year I grew a pepper called Kimchi I got from from Sherwood Seeds. I planted it in a container and it was loaded with peppers. They are hot but not too hot, and have a lovely color when dried for gochugaru. I also grew the Gochugaru from Chileplants in a container and it did well too. I’m making a couple of batches of kimchi with them now. I grew Lady Choi last year. The Kimchi peppers are the mildest of the three, at least in my garden.

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    • #79587
      EvilGrin
      Participant

      At the cost of even really good gochugaru it just wasn’t worth me growing them again this year. It takes a bunch of plants to make 2kg of powder. I can buy it for way less than growing them.

      I got a better return on my investment this year growing Aleppo. Its really hard to find top shelf Aleppo powder from Syria these days but i managed to get isolated seeds from Syria. 4 plants from seeds yielded more powder than i will likely use in a year.

      The other plant i grew just for powder and paste is called Aji Panca. The powder is quite expensive. Over $10 for 4oz. My 1 test plant did good and the flavor is wonderful. The peppers though take my entire season to ripen.

      Of course neither of these peppers work very well for kimchi. The Aleppo is close if you like pretty spicy kimchi. Its excellent for spicy beef soups.

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