Capsicum annuum (78 days) Open pollinated. Dark green to red 7" long tapered. Pungent, moderately hot; 900-2,500 Scovilles. Typical pepper for chiles rellenos.
Capsicum annuum (68 days) Open pollinated. Thin-walled 1½–3½" tapered fruits are as hot as they look and make welcome additions to chutneys, marinades, salsas, and hot sauces. Also delicious dried and ground.
Capsicum annuum (74 days) Open pollinated. Round 1-2" shiny bright tangerine fruits on sturdy plants. Heat is comparable to a mild jalapeño, but varies with the weather.
Capsicum annuum (65 days) Open pollinated. Black 2.5" long conical peppers ripen to lustrous garnet. Mild, juicy, thick-walled, a little less spicy than a jalapeño; 2,000-5,000 Scovilles.
Capsicum annuum (65 days green, 85 days ripe) Open pollinated. Dark green 1x3" sausage-shaped blunt fruits. Brown netting appears as fruits ripen to dark red. Hot! 4,000 to 6,500 Scovilles. Early.
Capsicum annuum (75 days) F-1 hybrid. Shiny green ripens to blazing red in a small strawberry-shaped cherry-type. Sweet and spicy, 2,500-5,000 Scovilles.
Capsicum annuum (80 days) Open pollinated. Striking color display, white with green stripes to orange with brown stripes, to red. 2" curving pendant form. 5,000-30,000 Scovilles. Attractive foliage.
Capsicum annuum (100 days) Open pollinated. Shiny orange fruits are a bit longer than a habanero but they pull off the look. Bushy short plants bear about 2 dozen sweet—not hot— fruits.
Capsicum annuum (75 days) Open pollinated. The 2½–3 x ½" bright scarlet fruits have thin walls and classic serrano heat. Perfect for fresh salsa, pickling and hot sauces
Capsicum annuum (88 days) Open pollinated. This rare Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom packs considerable heat. Rarely eaten raw, the peppers were traditionally used for pickling and pepper vinegar.
Capsicum annuum (68 days) Open pollinated. Smooth waxy yellow 1.5x5.5" tapered fruits ripen to orange then red. Semi-hot, 5,000-10,000 Scovilles. Early and prolific.
Capsicum annuum (75 days) Open pollinated. Bright red, 5-6" long by 1/2" wide tapered and often curled. Hot, pungent; 3,500-5,000 Scovilles. Dries easily. Prolific.
Capsicum chinense (90 days) Open pollinated. A Scotch Bonnet–type infamous for its extreme heat, their distinctive flavor makes them a key ingredient in West Indian jerk sauces.
Capsicum annuum (82 days) Open pollinated. Tiny bright red 1" conical fruits stand erect from foliage. Very hot, 25,000-40,000 Scovilles. Pretty and prolific.
Capsicum annuum (64 days green, 80 days red ripe) F-1 hybrid. Uniform glossy dark red fruits are mostly 2-lobed, flattened and tapering with a recessed stem. Known as Poblano when green.
Chiles have been consumed in Mexico for more than 5,000 years. In the U.S. hot peppers have increased dramatically in popularity.
Capsaicin compounds cause most of the heat in peppers. Warm nighttime temperatures stimulate maximum development of capsaicins and increase pungency levels. Pungency is expressed in Scoville units, after Wilbur Scoville, an Englishman who devised the method used for eighty years to measure the heat in peppers.
Some Scoville ratings for general categories are:
Bell, Banana and Pimiento peppers 0
Habanada 0
Beaver Dam <1k
Ancho, Poblano 1–2k
Anaheim ~1–2.5k
Czech Black 2–5k
Fireball 2.5–5k
Jaluv an Attitude 2.5–5k
LRN Cayenne 3.5–5k
Early Jalapeño 4–6k
Hungarian Hot Wax 5–10k
Hot Portugal 5–30k
Fish 5–30k
Bulgarian Carrot 5–30k
Thai Hot 25–40k
Ho Chi Minh ~30k
Matchbox 30–50k
Hinkelhatz ~125k
Habanero 200–325k
self defense pepper spray 2–3M
police-grade pepper spray 5.3M
straight capsaicin 15–16M.
If you overdose on hot peppers, plain carbs like bread, rice or tortillas are better than any liquid at removing the heat from your mouth. Handle hot peppers with caution; capsaicin is highly alkaloid and can burn skin.
