Not everyone is a fan of spicy food, that’s for sure. But if you are a person that loves that spicy punch that comes with hot peppers, you have clicked on the right article.
If you want to learn more about the most prominent types of hot peppers, you can do so by reading this quick guide.
Jalapeño
Jalapeños are very well known, and they are sort of the first tier of hot peppers that are popular. No matter whether we’re talking about guacamole, salsas, or nachos – jalapeños are a go-to hot pepper choice. They vary in heat, but the most common type is ranked as 2,500-5,000 Scoville units. In any case, if you want to reduce the heat of your dish when using jalapeños – make sure to use only the flesh of the pepper!
Cayenne
The most common use of cayenne can be found in its powdery, ground, and dried form. In case you want to opt for something more flavorful than paprika – cayenne pepper is the way to go. When it comes to the actual pepper, it also goes well with many dishes. You can even find cayenne being used in gourmet hot chocolate dishes! That being said, be careful when you use fresh cayenne, as it is described with 30,000-50,000 Scoville units.
Tabasco
Everyone has heard of the tabasco sauce, and for a good reason – it is a perfect addition to a wide variety of dishes. And it can be easily prepared, as you can see in this recipe by Corrie cooks, you can even prepare it in less than 20 minutes. When it comes to the Scoville units, it is ranked the same as Cayenne (30,000-50,000). Don’t be fooled though, using fresh tabasco is way hotter than compared with using dried cayenne powder!
Habanero
Now we’re getting to the ones for the braver foodies, as not so long ago (in 1999), habanero was actually deemed to be the hottest pepper in the world. With its 100,000-350,000 Scoville units, this isn’t all that surprising. Of course, as we know now, there indeed are even hotter peppers out there, and a lot of people enjoy the hotness of habanero. In any case, the high level of spiciness didn’t stop habanero peppers from appearing in sauces and salsas all around the world. They come in different colors, but all pack a punch that not everyone can handle. Tread carefully when using habanero peppers in your dishes!
Ghost Pepper
You have come to the end of the list, and now, let’s talk about the greatest, spiciest powerhouse here – the ghost pepper. There are some spicier peppers out there, but the point of them being edible sort of disappears after this one. In fact, the ghost pepper has even found its use in keeping predatory animals off farms in India. With its staggering 850,000-1,050,000 Scoville Heat Units, it’s no wonder that animals avoid ghost peppers. Some even go as far as to say that eating ghost pepper can kill you if you go overboard. Even with all that being a fact, people still use ghost peppers, although in extremely low amounts. If you really want to use this pepper, don’t go with more than a sprinkle – it is as much as you need and probably more for the majority of us.
The probability is high that as you’ve been getting closer and closer to the end of the article, you have realized that there indeed are some peppers that are borderline non-consumable. However, if you do enjoy a challenge, there are recipes that incorporate even the hottest peppers of the bunch. Good luck!
