Habanero? Wow, that's brave of you. We grew those once and I'll never forget them. Are they supposed to be one of the hottest or perhaps the hottest peppers of all?I made another almost 4 qt batch of that lentil salad, with the freekeh, and a large amount of those cherry tomatoes in it - the reason I can't make it in the off season. This batch I put 3 minced up habanero peppers in, and it still wasn't anywhere near as hot as when I used just one chocolate habanero. I hope that Fatalii is as good as that for next season. Some friends finished off my last two leftovers, and I know one will be back to sample this! The other asked me if I was going to make any more gazpacho (she's not crazy about the hot things), and I told her that I probably would - I certainly have enough tomatoes.
Habanero? Wow, that's brave of you. We grew those once and I'll never forget them. Are they supposed to be one of the hottest or perhaps the hottest peppers of all?
Habanero is just sort of a general term, that used to be best known in Yucatan cuisine, and some Caribbean areas, but we almost never got them elsewhere, as they didn't travel well, and they weren't growing them all over, back then! When the demand for them increased, they (the growers) started finding more and more varieties, and finding them hotter and hotter - for many years those Red Savina habaneros were the hottest, at just 500-550k, while now they have those "superhots", with that Pepper x the latest hottest one. They are all the same species as those habaneros - Capsicum chinense - but that can also have 0 heat units, depending on the variety. I have tried most of those superhots, but only once; this season I told a friend of mine, that I got hooked on growing peppers, that I'd grow that pepper x seeds, if he would try it, but this year he didn't want any superhots. The last 4 years he grew a different superhot, but the Carolina Reaper last season was too much, and he just turned 21!Habanero? Wow, that's brave of you. We grew those once and I'll never forget them. Are they supposed to be one of the hottest or perhaps the hottest peppers of all?
Habanero is just sort of a general term, that used to be best known in Yucatan cuisine, and some Caribbean areas, but we almost never got them elsewhere, as they didn't travel well, and they weren't growing them all over, back then! When the demand for them increased, they (the growers) started finding more and more varieties, and finding them hotter and hotter - for many years those Red Savina habaneros were the hottest, at just 500-550k, while now they have those "superhots", with that Pepper x the latest hottest one. They are all the same species as those habaneros - Capsicum chinense - but that can also have 0 heat units, depending on the variety. I have tried most of those superhots, but only once; this season I told a friend of mine, that I got hooked on growing peppers, that I'd grow that pepper x seeds, if he would try it, but this year he didn't want any superhots. The last 4 years he grew a different superhot, but the Carolina Reaper last season was too much, and he just turned 21!
I really don't use anything like that to cook with, though - just to see how hot they are, compared to others. The chocolate habanero and fatalii (the one time I grew them in the 90s) are around 400k, so a little milder than the red savinas, but an intense, fruity, habanero flavor. Many of the milder ones also have less of that flavor, but those superhots also have less of that fruity flavor. And the mildest chinense variety, that I grow for the flavor, is Aji dulce, which is only up to around 500 heat units! I grow those to make things for people that can't take heat, but want to try some of those dishes.
So I bet you drank a litre of milk after that burning experience!Not even close to the hottest. Here is a chili pepper scale in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The top two were developed by a guy named "Smokin' Ed" Currie. I have some Pepper X hot sauce. OMG, one drop on a cracker had my mouth on fire for at least ten minutes.
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I have noticed that I don't see or read about Scotch bonnet peppers. They seem to be in the same heat range as habaneros, but they have a nice, fruity flavour. Are they just being called habaneros now?Habanero is just sort of a general term, that used to be best known in Yucatan cuisine, and some Caribbean areas, but we almost never got them elsewhere, as they didn't travel well, and they weren't growing them all over, back then! When the demand for them increased, they (the growers) started finding more and more varieties, and finding them hotter and hotter - for many years those Red Savina habaneros were the hottest, at just 500-550k, while now they have those "superhots", with that Pepper x the latest hottest one. They are all the same species as those habaneros - Capsicum chinense - but that can also have 0 heat units, depending on the variety. I have tried most of those superhots, but only once; this season I told a friend of mine, that I got hooked on growing peppers, that I'd grow that pepper x seeds, if he would try it, but this year he didn't want any superhots. The last 4 years he grew a different superhot, but the Carolina Reaper last season was too much, and he just turned 21!
I really don't use anything like that to cook with, though - just to see how hot they are, compared to others. The chocolate habanero and fatalii (the one time I grew them in the 90s) are around 400k, so a little milder than the red savinas, but an intense, fruity, habanero flavor. Many of the milder ones also have less of that flavor, but those superhots also have less of that fruity flavor. And the mildest chinense variety, that I grow for the flavor, is Aji dulce, which is only up to around 500 heat units! I grow those to make things for people that can't take heat, but want to try some of those dishes.