Pepper Profiles

Japones Pepper

Japones Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are japones peppers? The japones pepper (a.k.a. santaka pepper or Japanese pepper) is an Asian spice staple often used in Japanese and Chinese cuisines, especially Szechuan and Hunan dishes. They are “fire bringers” – providing heat to a recipe without a lot of flavor …

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Tien Tsin Pepper

Tien Tsin Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are Tien Tsin peppers? You may know Tien Tsin peppers by another, more descriptive name – Chinese red peppers. These are the surprisingly hot (50,000 to 75,000 Scoville heat units), dried chilies that you sometimes find in you Kung Pao chicken or one of …

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Gypsy Pepper

Gypsy Pepper: A True Charmer

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Bold in color and super sweet…

Scoville heat units (SHU): 0
Jalapeño reference point: 2,000 to 8,500 times milder
Origin: U.S.A.
Products and seeds: Gypsy pepper on Amazon

If you love your peppers sweet, then there are none better than the gypsy pepper. There’s a sugary sweetness here, almost floral, not shocking since the gypsy is a no-heat sweet pepper, but surprising for its intensity as the fruits mature. Gypsies, with their thin skin, are perfect frying peppers, though the walls are thick enough for stuffing, too. There’s a visual charm to the gypsy, as well, as the peppers take on a hodgepodge of mixed flower-like colors as they age. They look exceptional in a landscaped edible garden or container.

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Piquillo Peppers

Piquillo Peppers: Spanish Sweet

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Jarred never tasted so good…

Scoville heat units (SHU): 500 – 1,000
Jalapeño reference point: 3 to 40 times milder
Origin: Spain
Products and seeds: Piquillo pepper on Amazon

For a chili pepper that most will only ever see coming out of a jar, the Spanish piquillo pepper (a.k.a. the little beak pepper) packs a real surprising and delicious flavor. They’re sweet peppers with modest heat – near imperceptible – with both smoky and tart undertones. Once experienced, piquillo peppers soon become a kitchen staple – perfect for puréeing into sauces, slicing for sandwiches, and stuffing with cheeses and meats. Look for them jarred in the gourmet food or international sections of your local grocer.

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Rocoto pepper

Rocoto Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are rocoto peppers? The rocoto pepper (a.k.a. locoto pepper) may resemble a bell pepper in shape, but underneath the hood it’s one chili that’s full of surprises. There’s juiciness and meatiness to this chili – more akin to a tomato than a pepper – …

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Puya Pepper

Puya Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are puya peppers? While easy to find in its native Mexico, the puya pepper (a.k.a. pulla pepper) is not so simple to find elsewhere. Perhaps it’s because the puya pepper shares much in common with its more popular cousin, the guajillo chili. But there’s much …

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Sandia Pepper

Sandia Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are Sandia peppers? The Sandia pepper (a.k.a. NuMex Sandia) is another of a long list of delicious chili hybrids developed by New Mexico State University. Just by looking at its shape, you can see its Anaheim pepper roots, large and long. But behind that …

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Brazilian Starfish

Brazilian Starfish Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are Brazilian starfish peppers? Describing the Brazilian starfish pepper as “uniquely shaped” may be doing it a disservice in the looks department. This is one beautiful chili with a shape much like a sea star. It’s a lovely quirkiness – sort of an unexpected, but …

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Bishops Crown Pepper

Bishop’s Crown Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

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What are bishop’s crown peppers? Few hot peppers have as distinctive a look as the bishop’s crown pepper. Its shape is unique yet familiar – looking like, you guessed it, a bishop’s crown. Its look – along with its ease to grow, eatable medium heat (5,000 to …

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