ISO: a substitute for poblanos in Ontario

[Darienne]

Wasn't quite sure where to ask this question, but seeing as I have to buy the answer in Ontario, I decided to go this route.

 

Poblanos.  A chile that we love and I use a lot of when I could get them, particularly for a Tex/Mex Chile Relleno casserole that I make.   And, of course, cut into rajas which I can add to other recipes like enchiladas and soups.  

 

For a few years now, we've been able to buy Poblanos in Sobey's, but recently our local store has chosen not to stock them any more.  So now there are not available anywhere in Peterborough, our nearby city.  

 

What pepper, available in Ontario grocery stores, would be suitable to use as a substitute?

 

(Just occurred to me...I'm going to grow my own this coming summer if I can.  Richter's carries seeds and plug packs.  I'm not a gardener, but I can do this.)

[Nyleve Baar]

Have you checked Freshco? I've seen poblanos there in the past. But of course they may not always have them and they may also be a little seasonal.

[andrewk512]

On 1/13/2023 at 9:28 PM, Darienne said:

Wasn't quite sure where to ask this question, but seeing as I have to buy the answer in Ontario, I decided to go this route.

 

Poblanos.  A chile that we love and I use a lot of when I could get them, particularly for a Tex/Mex Chile Relleno casserole that I make.   And, of course, cut into rajas which I can add to other recipes like enchiladas and soups.  

 

For a few years now, we've been able to buy Poblanos in Sobey's, but recently our local store has chosen not to stock them any more.  So now there are not available anywhere in Peterborough, our nearby city.  

 

What pepper, available in Ontario grocery stores, would be suitable to use as a substitute?

 

(Just occurred to me...I'm going to grow my own this coming summer if I can.  Richter's carries seeds and plug packs.  I'm not a gardener, but I can do this.)

Poblanos in Ontario are a hit and miss, sometimes various groceries have them more often they do not.

 

There are no good substitutes sadly. Only peppers I have ever seen here in groceries: bell pepper, shishito pepper, ghost pepper, habanero pepper, thai chilli pepper, poblano pepper, anaheim pepper, banana pepper. Bells/anaheim/banana have various substitution powers

[Darienne]

On 1/14/2023 at 11:40 AM, Nyleve Baar said:

Have you checked Freshco? I've seen poblanos there in the past. But of course they may not always have them and they may also be a little seasonal.

They don't usually have them in Peterborough. 

33 minutes ago, andrewk512 said:

Poblanos in Ontario are a hit and miss, sometimes various groceries have them more often they do not.

 

There are no good substitutes sadly. Only peppers I have ever seen here in groceries: bell pepper, shishito pepper, ghost pepper, habanero pepper, thai chilli pepper, poblano pepper, anaheim pepper, banana pepper. Bells/anaheim/banana have various substitution powers

I have yet to see an anaheim pepper ever in Peterborough.  We went into Sobeys a few days ago and they had a lot of poblanos.  We took them all.  Yes, I know.  But I don't really care at this point.  Cut them up, roasted them, put them into the freezer.  Chile Rellenos casserole is next.  

 

The manager said that Ed was mistaken, thinking that they were not stocking them any more.  They take them whenever they can...which is not regularly any more.  

[TdeV]

Good for you, @Darienne. All of them!

[Darienne]

Just accidentally came across this thread now.  My apologize to Sobeys for blaming them for no longer stocking Poblanos when the reality is that Ed misunderstood what the produce manager said.  The manager said they couldn't get them a lot of the time, and so it is.  I went in with Ed a couple of weeks later and the local Sobeys had a goodly lot of them....and we scarfed them all.  They're cut, roasted, and in the freezer awaiting some energy on my part for the next step. 

[TicTac]

Was going to offer to ship you some after my next trip to Kensington market, as they often have them in non summer months - but looks like you scored.

 

Enjoy, one of my favourite peppers beside Serrano's!

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

We used to have them in the local grocery store all the time, haven't seen them or habaneros there in quite a while though. Depending what I want to use them for, https://www.meximarket.ca/ sells whole canned poblanos. If you have a friend in the restaurant industry at a business that deals with sysco, they usually have them (or did anyway, haven't checked recently) but it's a pretty large amount. I'm thinking it was either 5 or 10 pounds. I get my habaneros through them now. They come in 1 lb. and 5 lb. packaging.