let’s think about Lord Wild as a kind of gastronomic laboratory in the middle of nature. Three fields of experimental cultivation in which two “madmen” of agriculture and good food put very unusual seeds to the test. Some belong to fruits and vegetables that disappeared decades ago within the process of biodiversity loss in which we are immersed globally. They are varieties that they stopped growing mainly due to its low productivity or commercial output, an argument that, unfortunately, always wins the game against other considerations such as its objective gastronomic value.
The white cucumberthe Pedro’s heart tomatothe pig squash wave butter bean These are some examples of the work to recover old seeds that they have been carrying out for a couple of years Paul Chaconforestry engineer and agronomist, and Rafa Honrubiajournalist specialized in scientific communication, who also comes from a well-known family of Valencian hoteliers.
Although they now work with a wide range of products, Señor Salvaje was born due to the passion of these two friends for hot peppers. In 2021 they decided to plant in the Valencian town of Chelva 70 different varieties of species capsicum -what we call peppers, but in Mexico they are known as chilies and in Peru as peppers-. They are varieties from all corners of the world, many of which had never been cultivated in Spain. They tried their luck and found that most grew without problem in the climate of the Mediterranean coast.
The basic idea of Rafa and Pablo is to work in collaboration with chefs reputed, who are always the best ambassadors. They present their products to them so that they can investigate with them and, hopefully, integrate them in one way or another into the menu of their restaurants. The ultimate goal is to put into circulation products that are very interesting gastronomically and that almost nobody knows about.
all the colors of the world
Taking a walk through Señor Salvaje’s Instagram gallery is a party. It is not strange that the world of capsicum raise so many passions, given the fascinating diversity of shapes, textures and colors that these fruits present.
Walking with Rafa and Pablo among the ridges of their garden is also priceless. That’s when we know the existence of curious varieties like chili labuyo (Pablo brought those seeds from a trip to the Philippines) or the chilhuaclea Mexican species that is in Danger of extinction and it is one of the oldest chiles known. “It is similar to an old ñora, somewhat spicy and very aromatic,” they tell us.
They also show us the variety thunder mountain longhornoriginally from China and perfect to eat raw, because it is crunchy and not very spicy, as well as the date chili, originally from Minorcaalthough it is hardly cultivated anymore.
They grow chili peppers in danger of extinction, including forgotten Spanish varieties
In your garden there is room for extreme chilliesAs the fatalii, of South African origin. It is very hot, with a score of close to 500,000 shu on the Scoville scale, which is the one that measures the degree of heat or pungency in peppers from anywhere in the world. We also find varieties that are aesthetically precious, although not too interesting gastronomically. In this category would fit the purple ufo or the chili white fantasy.
Ajíes, the great unknowns
Señor Salvaje is specializing above all in the cultivation of peppers. “They are great unknowns,” says Pablo. Most people know only yellow, when in reality there are 30 or 40 natural varieties with very different shades. Are friendly, fruity and aromatic. Very interesting for the kitchen.
Within this family, stands out for example the chili starfish -sweet and with just the right amount of spice-; the chili Machu Picchu -“A little spicy and especially interesting to dry it to use it in powder”-; the chaluaruro -lilacs are similar to a Japanese eggplant-; the peach chili and the golden chili.
Within the group of capsicumexist five domesticated varieties and about 50 or 60 wild. The ones consumed by human beings are those of the family Capsicum bacatum (peppers), the Capsicum Annun (the classic peppers, which can be hot or sweet), the Capsicum frutescens (a type of small chilies that are mainly grown in Thailand and the Philippines); the Capicum pubescens and the capsisum chinense (to which habaneros and other super potent chili peppers like the Naga Morich or the caroline reaper).
Spain and the spicy culture
Pablo and Rafa are aware that they work with a product little understood in Spain. A great paradox, since our country was the gateway for hot peppers to the rest of Europe, Asia and Africa, after the Spanish colonizers brought to the peninsula the first varieties of Capsicum Annun from Mesoamerica. “We have verified that there are many chefs who they are afraid of spicy. They don’t dare to offer it to the diner in case he rejects it, ”laments Pablo.
“The cooks do not dare to offer very spicy dishes”
“Traditionally, in Spain they ate much more spicy than now – adds Rafa-. Although it is true that it never became part of the gastronomic idiosyncrasy in the same way as in countries like India”. The truth is that there are many traditional Spanish stews whose recipe is, by definition, “picantona”. Let’s think about the all i pebre Valenciano, the snails in spicy sauce, the patatas bravas or the mojo picón. In fact, Spain has always had its own varieties of hot pepper. In addition to the best known, such as the piparras from Ibarrathe Padron peppers and the cayennes, there are many others whose cultivation has disappeared. That is precisely where the recovery work of Señor Salvaje begins.
Among the old local varieties with which they work, Pablo highlights the white pebrera from Valencia as one of the recovered jewels that he appreciates the most. “It is spicy and very meaty; perfect pickle. In addition, it is a very easy crop to maintain and very productive. I don’t understand why he stopped working with her. We are determined to make it commercially viable again. It bites little more than a piparra, so it could be a kind of native Valencian substitute”.
The game of roulette, but with carolina reaper
One of the most interesting collaboration projects that Señor Salvaje has in hand is a line of spicy chocolates that will not resemble anything that we can find right now in the Spanish market. It will be called Wild Mario and it will come from the hand of the master chocolatier padial frame.
“Most of the brands, both for sauces and chocolates and other products that are sold as spicy, use chemical capsaicin instead of natural spicy -explains Rafa-. The problem is that capsaicin does not add flavor; It’s free spicy. Our challenge has been to achieve a line of products with natural spiceand with different flavors and nuances”.
This autumn three types of spicy chocolate bars: one with chipotle -that is, Mexican jalapeño smoked in oak wood-; another with chili and another with Naga Moricha chili that is grown in northeastern India and Bangladesh and was long considered the hottest in the world, with one and a half million units on the Scoville scale.
Señor Salvaje’s chocolate adventure culminates with “Roulette”, a game of chocolates inspired by the famous suicidal russian roulette. Among the spicy chocolates that are presented in the box, one of them hides the feared (or desired) caroline reaper (more than two million units on the Scoville scale). Super game… super hot.
Carolina Reaper Ground – 45g – World’s Hottest Chili
Photos | Lord Wild
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