As a kid, my dad insisted on cooking things hot. “You can’t grow up in this house if you can’t handle the heat.” I developed a love for the spicy through brute force and haven’t looked back since. Most dinners I cook boast at least a little heat, especially during the glory that is hot pepper season.
While hot peppers aren’t a very profitable crop, they also aren’t a hard crop to grow. Hot peppers will never break your heart like a tomato plant or even a sweet pepper. They’re reliable little workhorses, cranking out heat all summer long.
We’ve winnowed down our hot pepper selection to five favorite varieties, ranging in heat from “barely there” to “breaking out in a sweat”. Here’s a rundown (descriptions taken from seed catalogs):
- Tiburon Poblano: “The flesh is thick and mildly hot with that mouth-watering distinctive Poblano flavor, sweet and savory.”
- Hungarian Hot Wax: “Ripens from pale yellow to deep golden orange and finally cherry red, but traditionally harvested light green and used for pickling. May be harvested at any stage but heat intensifies as peppers mature.”
- El Jefe Jalapeno: ” Very juicy with the well known Jalapeno flavour. Really delicious. These have a deep back of the throat burn and are hotter than the usual Jalapeno.”
- Maule’s Red Hot: “Introduced in 1903 by the William Henry Maule seed company of Philadelphia. Vivid red 10″ long cayenne-type peppers are great for hot sauce or dried red pepper flakes.” My personal favorite!
- Fatalii: “The hottest pepper we offer, from the Central African Republic. Habanero-type peppers with delicious citrus flavor and few seeds.”
Whether you’re pickling, drying, or just spicing up dinner, there’s a hot pepper in this world ready to make your day more interesting.