How to Pick the Right Hot Peppers for Your Palate

When it comes to peppers, many people love them throat-burning hot. Some even claim there's no such thing as a "too hot" pepper and will munch on a "five-alarm" hot pepper without so much as a second thought. Others can only tolerate the hot peppers that have just a bit of fire to them. Luckily, there are a variety of hot peppers to suit every palate. If you're just discovering the joys of eating and cooking hot and spicy peppers, use this guide to help you pick the right pepper for your preference.

THE HEAT SCALE

Hot peppers are classified by their degree of fire according to the Scoville heat scale. Wilbur Scoville was a pharmacist who studied the pungency of peppers to develop this rating system in 1912, and its still widely used today. The degree of hotness varies between pepper types, with the lowest being the sweet bell pepper (a zero on the heat scale) and the hottest being the Mexican Habanero.

POPULAR PEPPERS, FROM MILD TO HOT

On the mild end are the Annaheim, Poblano and Banana/Hungarian peppers. All of these are excellent for fresh salsa that has just a bit of kick. Poblanos are very large, and frequently stuffed with cheese to make the tasty Mexican dish known as in Chile Rellenos. The Hot Cherry pepper is another good choice in the mild category. While most hot peppers have an oblong shape, this cute pepper resembles a cherry tomato.

Medium-hot peppers include the Jalapeno, Serrano and Cayenne. Tabasco and Thai peppers are two varieties in the hot-to-fiery category, good for soup, bean dishes and stews. Then there's the Habanera, rated "fiery to incendiary" and to be used with caution unless you have a very high tolerance for heat. In general, the smaller the pepper, the higher degree of heat.

USES & WARNINGS

Hot peppers are a versatile food with many different culinary uses. They can be eaten raw "as is," chopped and added to salsas and sauces, roasted, pickled, or dried and ground to use as a spice. Peppers are considered good for your health, because they have few calories and they're high in Vitamin C. Peppers are also believed to have beneficial antioxidant properties.

Removing the seeds and white membranes inside can reduce a pepper's heat level somewhat. Be sure to wear disposable gloves when handling hot peppers, and wash your hands thoroughly when you're finished. The chemical compound Capsaicin (found inside the pepper) is what gives a pepper its heat, and it can easily burn the skin and cause eye irritation.

If you want to grow hot peppers in your backyard garden, read the plant labels carefully. Some varieties, such as Hungarian Hot Wax and Hot Cherry, look exactly like their sweet counterparts. Pick the wrong one and you'll be in for a very fiery surprise at harvest time!