Hot Peppers 101 by Meseidy

The other day, I walked into my local grocery store looking for some peppers. I wanted something with a little spice but not something that would melt my face off. It was then that I realized: Holy cow, there are a lot of peppers!

I mean, I know there are a lot of peppers but standing in the store looking at all of them, it was a little overwhelming.  Which pepper do I choose? How hot is it? What does it taste like? It’s good to know these things because I’m not about to blindly bite into a raw pepper to find out. I’m too much of a wimp for that. 

 
 

Figuring that you may have had a similar experience, I thought I’d create a simple guide to peppers. I went to the store and bought all the peppers I could get my hands on. I even tasted most of them. I say “most” because I refuse to eat a habanero pepper. 

Peppers are deceiving. Looking at them, you’d think red peppers are hotter than green, and small peppers are milder than large peppers. But there’s no way to know how hot a pepper is simply by looking at it. Below, you will find a guide that tells you how hot a pepper is according to the Scoville heat index. Invented by Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville index ranks peppers, from mildest to hottest. The index starts at 0 (the mildest) and can reach over 1,000,000 for the hottest peppers. 

 
 

Bell Peppers
Scoville index: 0

Bell peppers are probably the most common pepper. Sometimes I don’t even think of them as a pepper because they’re sweet and not hot at all. Bell peppers can be yellow, red, orange, or green. Although they will have varying levels of sweetness, none of them are hot. 

 
 

Banana Peppers
Scoville index: 0 to 500

The banana pepper is my favorite! Pickled banana peppers, to be precise. I love them because they have a mild, tangy taste. I put them on pizzas and in sandwiches all the time. While typically bright yellow, they can also turn green, red, or orange as they ripen. Don’t confuse the banana pepper with hot banana peppers, which look very similar. Hot banana peppers have a Scoville index of 5,000 to 10,000.

 
 

Shishito 
Scoville index: 100 to 1,000

The shishito pepper seems to be popping up everywhere lately. Shishito peppers are Japanese chili peppers available year-round. Although it turns from green to red once ripe, it is typically harvested when green. The spice level of this pepper is very mild, with some peppers having virtually no heat at all. But don’t let this little green pepper fool you. I like to call the shishito pepper the Russian roulette pepper because about one of every ten peppers is spicy. If you like spice, that tenth pepper won’t bother you. But if you are a wimp like me, eating shishitos can be stressful. Shishito peppers have a thin skin that blisters and chars easily. It gives them a great charred flavor. They are traditionally served roasted and tossed in sesame oil and soy sauce. 

 
 

Poblano
Scoville index: 1,000 to 1,500

The poblano pepper is a mild chili pepper, great served fresh in salsa or stuffed and roasted. It’s the pepper used for chili rellenos. This pepper is originally from the state of Puebla, Mexico, hence the name poblano. Dried poblano peppers are called ancho chilis. I especially love this pepper in green chili chicken enchiladas. 

 
 

Anaheim 
Scoville index: 500 to 2,500

The Anaheim pepper is another mild pepper. These Anaheims are green but you can usually find them maroon in color with a long skinny body. When raw, their heat is more peppery and less melt-your-face. Anaheim peppers have a thick skin, which makes them ideal for roasting. When roasted, they develop a little sweetness on the front end and a mild spice on the back end. 

 
 

Jalapeño 
Scoville index: 2,000 to 5,000

I think that, in the United States, the jalapeño pepper is the most common and popular hot pepper. Although jalapeño peppers are typically priced and consumed when green, they can turn red, orange, or yellow when ripe. At first glance, it looks like the serrano pepper, but it is milder and wider than serrano peppers. Red jalapeño peppers are typically smoked and dried, after which they are then called chipotle peppers. 

 
 

Serrano
Scoville index: 10,000 to 25,000

If you are into eating raw hot peppers, you’ve probably bitten into a serrano pepper. The serrano pepper has a bright and biting flavor that is notably hotter than jalapeño peppers. Serrano peppers are fleshy and crunchy, making them ideal for pico de gallo and salsas. They look like jalapeños but they are jalapeños’ skinnier, hotter cousin. 

 
 

Manzano
Scoville index: 12,000 to 30,000

This pepper isn’t common but I thought I would include it because it looks innocent—and it’s not. The first time I saw a manzano pepper, I thought it would be sweet and mild because of the name. I assumed that “manzano” came from the word “manzana,” which means “apple” in Spanish. It’s not sweet like an apple—it’s hot like a pepper. I will say that it did have some fruity notes to it and its flavor was bright and citrusy. The manzano chili’s flavor and thick walls make it a superb salsa chili. But it can be challenging to grow outside its native cool climate in the Andes, making it tough to find locally for those outside Mexico and South America.

 
 

Arbol
Scoville index: 15,000 to 30,000

The arbol chili is an example of a small pepper that packs a punch. It’s a Mexican chili pepper also known as bird’s beef or rat’s tail chili. The inside, where the seeds are attached, can be removed from the pepper to tone down its heat. These arbol chilies are green but they can also be found red with a wooden stem when fully ripened. They can sometimes be confused with the much hotter cayenne pepper (Scoville index of 30,000–50,000).

 
 

Habanero
Scoville index: 150,000 to 350,000

Although I would categorize most of this list as “melt-your-face-off peppers” because, again, I am a wimp, habanero peppers will liquefy your face. Though not as hot as the famed ghost pepper (Scoville Index 855,000 – 1,041,427), it is the hottest of the hot peppers commonly used. This pepper may be small but it packs a serious punch. It comes in a wide range of colors, all of them equally hot. 

 
 

If you are a true pepperhead, you’ve probably tasted most, if not all, of these peppers. But if you need to be cautious like me, use this guide to help you determine how brave you want to be. That said, the Scoville index is a great guide but we all have our own individual taste and tolerance levels. Being that the jalapeño pepper is the one pepper that most have tried, I suggest using it as your guide by comparing other peppers’ Scoville index to that of the jalapeño pepper. 

So, are you a pepperhead or a wimp like me? What peppers have you tried that I missed? And what is your favorite way to cook with hot peppers?