These flavorful hot pepper varieties range from mild to fiery.
Hot peppers are having a moment.
They’re at the vanguard of a love for hot food that has swept across the country.
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If you enjoy adding heat to your meals at home, you’ll need plenty of fresh hot peppers.
And the best way to get access to different types of hot peppers is to grow them yourself.
Here’s what you gotta know to pick out the best types for your palette.
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Hot peppers need at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily to thrive.
Have ashady or small yard?
Peppersgrow well in containersandraised beds, so you might grow them in any sunny spot you have.
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That’s why the U.S. Southwest is such a hotbed of pepper growing.
Rainier, cloudier climates produce peppers with less punch.
Compensate by planting hotter varieties.
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Measuring a Pepper’s Heat
The heat of peppers is measured inScoville units.
Pro tip: You don’t want to eat a pepper that contains millions of Scovilles.
That’s a stunt pepper, not an edible one.
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The hottest varieties can literally burn unprotected skin.
Contrary to popular belief, removing the seeds doesn’t reduce the heat from a pepper.
The heat is concentrated in the pepper’s inner white pith, or rib, not the seeds.
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Cut out the pith to take some of the bite out of a fresh hot pepper.
Top Hot Pepper Picks (arranged in order of increasing heat)
1.
Paprika Peppers
Paprika peppers are a staple of Hungarian and Turkish cooking.
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They’re a relatively mild pepper that has a sweet heat.
Paprikas are usually dried and made into powder.
Scoville Rating: 250 to 1,000
2.
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Poblano
Poblano is a hot pepper originating in Mexico.
They’re aMexican and New Mexican cuisinestaple, used to make chile rellenos and chiles en nogada.
Poblanos are dark green, relatively mild for a hot pepper, and grow 3 to 6 inches long.
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They ripen to dark red or brown, but most people pick them green for maximum heat.
They’re ready to harvest about 75 days after putting out transplants.
Poblanos are usually roasted and peeled, then eaten fresh, or frozen for later use.
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Dried poblanos are called ancho peppers.
Scoville Rating: 1,000 to 2,000
3.
They’re an important part of New Mexican culture, but you could grow them anywhere.
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There are a lot of varieties of Hatch chiles with a wide range of heat.
Hatch chiles grow on plants around 30 inches tall and areready to harvestin about 80 days.
Scoville Rating: 1,000 to 10,000
4.
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Jalapeno Peppers
Humble jalapenos have Mexican origins but are grown all over the country nowadays.
Dried jalapenos are known as chipotles.
Scoville Rating: 2,500 to 8,000
5.
Serrano Peppers
Serranos are jalapenos' spicier cousins, substituted for jalapenos when one wants more heat.
Most varieties are green but come in red, orange, and yellow.
Depending on variety, they grow on medium-sized plants ranging from 24 to 48 inches tall.
Serranos are thepepper of choice for pickling,making salsa, or eating fresh inpico de gallo.
Scoville Rating: 10,000 to 25,000
6.
Cayenne Peppers
Cayenne peppers are a staple of Creole and Cajun cuisine, Mexican sauces, and Asian curries.
Cayenne pepper also puts the kick inMexican street corn(akaelote).
Cayenne peppers are skinny and 5 to 6 inches when mature, around 70 days after planting.
you’ve got the option to pick them sooner, but they won’t be as hot.
Cayenne peppers grow on short plants that average 18 inches tall, which are great for containers.
Scoville Rating: 30,000 to 50,000
7.
Thai peppers are ready to pick about 70 days after putting out transplants.
Thai hot peppers can be eaten fresh or preserved in oil or vinegar or crushed and used in sauces.
They’re about 25 times hotter than the average jalapeno, so use them sparingly in cooking.
Scoville Rating: 50,000 to 100,000
8.
Scotch Bonnet pepper’s name comes from its shape, which resembles a Scottish tam.
They grow on compact 24-inch tall plants, so they’re agood pick for containers.
Be sure you support the plant’s pepper-laden branches with tomato cages to keep the stems from snapping.
Scoville Rating: 100,000 to 350,000
9.
Habanero Peppers
Habaneros are adorable little guys that look like tinybell peppers.
But look out; they pack serious heat.
Habaneros are 100 times as hot as the average jalapeno.
You need an asbestos mouth to eat these babies.
They’re ready to harvest about 95 days after planting, so habaneros are late-season peppers.
Red habaneros are ready to pick sooner, after just 75 days.
Scoville Rating:100,000 to 350,000
10.
Ghost pepper fruits are 2 to 3 inches long and ripen from green to bright red.
You’ll need to support the tall plants with cages or stakes late in the season.
Respect this pepper: It’s more than 400 times hotter than a jalapeno.
This is the pepper often used inmilitary-grade pepper sprayby the Indian government.
Scoville Rating: 1,000,000 to 3,000,000
11.
Carolina Reaper
Carolina reaper peppers are actually the current record holder for the hottest pepper on the planet.
This is food as fire.
These notorious peppers are bright red or yellow and 2 to 3 inches long, depending on the variety.
Carolina reaper peppers are ready to harvest about 75 days after planting.
These are nuclear-level peppers, so use them sparingly.
A small piece of a single pod can flavor abig pot of chili.
Or try drying them and grinding them into a super-hot pepper powder you use in 14 teaspoons.
