Corduroy Orange

I have recently started making my own salsa, but am disappointed by the amount of heat that regular jalepenos add to it. Until recently I had an aversion to peppers (I trace it back to my grandfather chasing me around with one saying “It’ll put hair on chest”. Not exactly what a girl wants). Now I know bell peppers are the mildest, with jalepenos close after and habaneros are the hottest. I want something that I would classify as “medium” heat. Could you maybe list what peppers are suitable for salsa, and their varying degress of heat? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Courtney

Bell peppers are indeed the mildest form of pepper grown, and are a sweet vegetable, as opposed to a hot one. There are varying degrees of heat between them and jalapenos, though, and then several levels between jalapenos and habaneros. Something else to consider is that individual peppers have varying degrees of spice—one jalapeno is not necessarily of the same heat as another. Unfortunately, for the modern jalapeno, that sentiment is doubly true. The food industry is seeking to capitalize on its recognizable name while simultaneously trying to appeal to non-heat loving individuals, and there is a section of growers that is working to breed less hot jalapenos. It’s possible that your disappointing pepper is a result of this effort.

If you’re looking for a more reliable pepper, look for some of the less well-known options. Cherry Hot peppers (small, round, and red), are about the same heat as a milder jalapeno, so you’re probably not too interested in them. Serranos (thin, long, and green) are fairly widely available and about as hot as a hotter jalapeno, so they might be something you would like. Cayenne peppers (long, thin, and red) are similarly hot, but are not often carried in most grocery stores. Bird’s Eye, a.k.a. Thai Chiles (small, thin, red, and often sold in clusters) are slightly hotter. If you’re looking for heat, avoid Anaheim and Poblano peppers, which are relatively mild (but still a good bit hotter than a bell pepper).

No matter what pepper you use, you can coax more heat out of it by using the pith in your cooking. Contrary to popular belief (which holds that the seeds are the hottest part), it’s actually the soft, white innards that the seeds cling to where most of the heat is concentrated. The exception to this rule is the bell pepper, which has a bitter pith. There’s really nothing you can do to coax heat out of a bell pepper.

If you’re interested in dried peppers, check out the options available from Penzey’s Spices. Penzey’s is a great spice purveyor no matter what you’re looking for (and can often identify the source of your spice down to the village where it was grown), and has a wide array of dried chiles available with info about their relative heat. Unfortunately, most of this information is not available on their website, but it is available in their catalog (which I highly recommend and which you can request online or get from one of their stores).

Another option to consider would be to grow your own peppers. There is a wide range of heirloom seeds that grow unique peppers not often seen outside of a farmer’s market. For more detailed information and links to seed sources, check out the Pepper Fool, whose page on hot peppers includes links, recipes, and info about varieties.

Good luck, and let me know how your search turns out!

If you have a culinary question, email me, and I’ll try to help you out.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 11th, 2007 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Advice Column, Cooking Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.