Pepper Profiles – Page 17

Kung Pao Pepper: Putting POW In Pao

Versatile, with very eatable heat…

Scoville heat units (SHU): 7,000 – 12,000
Jalapeño reference point: Equal to 5 time hotter
Origin: Asia
Products and seeds: Kung Pao pepper on Amazon

If you’ve ever dined at (or ordered from) a Chinese restaurant, you’ve likely seen on the menu a few dishes labeled “Kung Pao”. Let’s set things straight out the gate – these dishes aren’t named for this chili. Kung Pao pepper is a recent hybrid chili, and Kung Pao dishes have been around for generations. But Kung Pao pepper does taste great in this dish – and it’s perfect for using in Asian, Thai, and Sichuan cuisine – as it’s an excellent less spicy alternative to Thai peppers and cayenne.

Aji Panca Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are aji panca peppers? In Peruvian cuisine, the aji panca (a.k.a. aji brown) is only second in popularity to its golden bright cousin, the aji amarillo. But that’s in no way a comment on its flavor. In fact, the aji panca is just as flavorful …

Peppadew® Piquantè Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are Peppadew® Piquantè Peppers? A little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and quite a bit of pickled tang are the hallmarks of your typical PEPPADEW® Piquantè Pepper. It’s a unique flavor – so unique, in fact, that the growers have trademarked the name. Peppadew® …

Manzano Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are manzano peppers? There are few medium-hot chilies with true fruitiness. Most have a bright crisp flavor or an earthiness with a hint of fruit. The manzano pepper is one of the exceptions. Its apple-like shape hints at fruity, and it doesn’t disappoint with …

Cowhorn Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are cowhorn peppers? Chilies come in some unique shapes and sizes. You have those that take the shape of a carrot, others that taper to a scorpion-like stinger, and still others that are wrinkled and pocked like they were fire-kissed by the devil himself. …

Dorset Naga: Hand-Picked For Greatness

by Matt Bray

The super Naga Morich…

Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,598,227
Jalapeño reference point: 125 to 639 times hotter
Origin: United Kingdom
Products and seeds: Dorset Naga on Amazon.com

What happens when you hand-pick and grow only the best seeds of one of the hottest peppers in the world? A super subspecies is born. That’s the case with the Dorset Naga. It’s technically a subspecies of the Naga Morich, but its heat and intense popularity, especially in Great Britain, have given the Dorset Naga a place at the pepper scale round table. It’s a subspecies that’s talked about like its own pepper variety, and it has the fangs to back it up. As both the Naga Morich and Dorset Naga are cousins of the ghost pepper, they both rank right up there as some of the hottest peppers in the world.

Aleppo Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are Aleppo peppers? Don’t be surprised that once you try crushed Aleppo pepper (also known as the Halaby pepper), it’ll be hard to settle on generic chili powder or red pepper flakes again. It’s that tasty – a moderate medium heat (10,000 Scoville heat …

Padrón Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are Padrón peppers? Every chili pepper has a heat range, but very few pack the spicy surprise that the Padrón pepper does. 90% of the time these Spanish chilies (also known as Pimento de Padrón) are some of the mildest on the planet. And …

Naga Morich: Venamous Bite

by Matt Bray

The ghost pepper’s hotter cousin.

Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Jalapeño reference point: 125 to 600 times hotter
Origin: India
Products and seeds: Naga Morich on Amazon.com

With a venomous bite even more intense than its cousin the ghost pepper, the Naga Morich (also known as the serpent chili and the Dorset Naga*) sits in rarefied air on the pepper scale. Calling it “fiery” would simply be an understatement as only a handful of chilies surpass it. Like with other super-hot peppers, don’t handle these chilies raw without taking safety precautions, and if you dare to eat it, be ready for the pain!

Chimayo Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses

by Matt Bray

What are Chimayo peppers? The tiny New Mexican village of Chimayo, 28 miles north of Santa Fe, holds a chili treasure dear to heart. There, the Chimayo pepper – in its twisted, knotted beauty – is king. Its sun-dried skin, smoky taste, and simmering medium heat …