Call me what you like: a spicy junkie, capsaicin addict, or better yet a PepperHead®, but nothing beats the Habanero for its unlimited uses.
If you can stand the heat, the Habanero has amazing flavor and surprising health benefits.
Join me in taking a journey through the origin, heat, flavor, nutrition, and uses of the ever-popular Habanero pepper.
Quick Facts
Habanero Scoville: 100,000 – 350,000 SHU Habanero vs Jalapeno: 12 to 100 times hotter than a Jalapeno Species: Capsicum chinense Heat: Very Hot Flavor:floral, sweet, crunchy, and bursting with heat Seeds:Buy Habanero Seeds
Heat Ranking
Habaneros are consideredvery hot to the general public, however, there are 100’s of peppers MUCH hotter in a category called super hots. Typical Habanero peppers range from 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) which is anywhere from 12 to 100 times hotter than a Jalapeno.
Ghost peppers and Carolina Reaper peppers are off-the-charts hot at 1 million and 2.2 million scovilles respectively.
Back in 1999, Guinness ranked the Habanero as world’s hottest pepper. This doesn’t mean hotter peppers didn’t already exist, they just weren’t known by the populous.
Grocery store habaneros tend to be slightly less spicy than home grown peppers.
Heat of peppers vary with:
Growing conditions
Watering schedule
Climate
Plant genetics
Stress on the plant
Ripeness at harvest time
Commercially grown habaneros are typically picked before the pods are completely ripe. Under-ripe peppers aren’t as spicy and will not increase in heat once plucked from the plant.
Ever had a habanero from the grocery store with little to no heat? This is why.
Origin
The ancestors of the habanero looked vastly different than the domesticated pepper you recognize today. The habanero originally started as a small wild chile pequin. After thousands of years of breeding and cultivating, the wild pepper has evolved into the blazing pepper you see in grocery stores today.
The habanero pepper origins dates back as far as 8,500 years ago from the Brazilian Rainforest in South America. From here, the Mayans traveled up Central America to Mexico bringing their peppers with them.
Habaneros are deeply ingrained in Mexican culture. Yucatan, Mexico is now the largest producer of Habaneros in the world, exporting to the United States, Europe and Asia. Yucatan’s unique soil composition, climate, and unrelenting sun make it the perfect location to grow these spicy peppers.
These growing conditions make Habaneros from Yucatan vastly superior in flavor and heat than grown anywhere else.
What’s in the Name?
The Habanero also has origins in the Caribbean islands. The name Habanero means “from Habana” which is in reference to the Cuban city La Habana or known in the US as Havana, Cuba.
In the 18th Century (1700’s) the Spanish were responsible for spreading these seeds all over the world with their network of trading, eventually reaching Europe, Africa and Asia.
This is how the scientific name, Capsicum chinense, came to be. A Dutch botanist,Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, incorrectly named it after China because of its popularity in Chinese cooking.
Cultivars
A cultivar is a variety of plant that has been created by selective breeding. Cultivars and selective breeding should not be confused with a genetically modified organism (GMO); the two are not the same.
Nowadays, habaneros come in almost every color of the rainbow including orange, red, chocolate and even white!
Personally, I’m kind of obsessed with every white pepper. White peppers have less heat but twice the flavor. Can’t get enough of them!
These color variations come from intentional or accidental cross breeding of peppers. Growers collect the hot pepper seedsfrom the different colored fruit and the offspring will sometimes produce the same color pepper. After many generations of isolating the colors, a stable variety is created.
Just as pepper enthusiasts bred habaneros for color, they have also bred for heat. The Red Savina Habanero is just that, HOT.
Red Savina
The Red Savina is still the hottest habanero and held the title of World’s Hottest Pepper for many years. This variety was found in a patch of Caribbean Red Habanero peppers and stood out among the rest.
The creator, Frank Garcia of GNS Spices, in Walnut, California explains that this plant was unique in that it had bigger, thicker, and hotter pods than any of his other plants. After years of selective breeding, he was able to register the cultivar as a Plant Variety Protection (PVP)which gave him the sole rights to grow and sell seeds of this variety.
The PVP has since expired and demand has waned, but the Red Savina lives on in our garden as one of our favorite peppers ever.
Nutrition & Health Benefits
Habaneros are jam packed with Vitamin C.
Gram for gram Habaneros have more Vitamin C than oranges!
Just one pepper has over 100% of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake with only 18 calories and zero grams of fat.
Habaneros also have a high concentration of Potassium for their size. The only problem is eating enough of them.
Even though you won’t get your total recommended Potassium intake with just a few peppers, it still makes a healthy addition to any meal.
Habaneros contain a high concentration of capsaicin: the chemical compound that makes peppers spicy. This miracle chemical is a phytonutrient that shows great promise to prevent and treat many diseases.
Capsaicin is a natural anti-inflammatory.
Popularity
The popularity in the US keeps rising as more people discover how great this utilitarian pepper really is. There is a steady incline of google searches for the term “Habanero” over the last 14 years.
Every year, more and more people are joining the underground world of spicy.
In August and September, there is a huge spike in searches. I suspect this is because this is “in-season” for fresh Habaneros. Home gardeners are picking ripe pods from their plants and looking for more information and uses.
Also around August, you will see prices drop for fresh habaneros and more stores carrying this seasonal crop.
Flavor
The flavor of Habaneros are unlike any other hot pepper. It is fruity, floral, sweet, crunchy, and bursting with pungency. The flavor is so unique that it is the reference point when comparing flavors of other peppers. Two peppers have similar heat and flavor are the Fatalii and Scotch Bonnet.
The Habanero can be used at varying stages of ripeness to give a dish different flavors. When picked green, it has a more earthy flavor with less heat. Late stage ripeness will have a more developed and sweeter flavor.
When eaten alone, the burn can be described as forward and aggressive that fades quickly. Heat when cooked into dishes isn’t quite as hostile.
Sweet Pairings
Habaneros pair great with sweet dishes and give it that sweet-heat goodness. Many recipes include mangos and habaneros together as you can see in the recipes below.
(Video) Gordon Ramsay's Guide To Chili | Gordon Ramsay
The sugar content in the mango mellows the searing heat in the habaneros.
Culinary Uses
Habaneros are a stable in almost every spicy lovers diet including mine. The heat and flavor pairs well with almost every dish.
I mostly use habaneros in making hot sauces, salsas or jellys, but theycan be prepared in unlimited ways including:
Hot Sauce
Salsa
Chutney
Marinades
Chili Puree
Chili Paste
Powdered and mixed into dry rubs
Jerk Recipes
Chili Oil
Pickled
Pepper Jam
Stuffed Peppers
Spicy salad dressing
Spicy Desserts
Recipes
These are some of my favorite habanero recipes from around the web.
Recipes are from MikeHultquist’s amazing spicy blog Chili Pepper Madness,Trevor and Jennifer’s blog Show me the Yummy and many more.
All links are external and will open in a new window.
Watch this delicious Habanero Poppers video recipe by WTFood
(Video) The 'Roulette Habanero' Pepper - No Heat, Prolific, Great Citrus Flavor: Flower & Vegetable Profiles
Growing a Habanero Plant
Habaneros are one of the easier hot pepper plants to grow. Plants typically reach 4 feet tall (122 cm) and produce 30-40 fruits at a time. Given enough nutrients and fertilizer these plants produce all season long. One plant can produce more peppers than a single family can consume.
Growing Habaneros is fun! Share your harvests with friends and family.
You can grow your own habanero plants with our seeds and following our ultimate guide to growing hot peppers.
Seed Starting
Seed germination is standard and need a warm and moist environment.
Light Requirements
Established habanero plants need full sun. Sun provides vital nutrients for fruit production. The more light, the more fruit the plant can produce.
Soil Requirements
Like most peppers, habaneros require slightly acidic soil that drains well. “wet feet” equals rotten roots and a host of other issues.
Water Requirements
This depends on your growing environment. They don’t need an excessive amount of water. Only water when needed. Water just before the leaves start to wilt.
Fertilizer Requirements
Organic or chemical fertilizers work well on habaneros. They need plenty of Calcium and Magnesium.
Container Friendly
Smaller plants can be grown in pots, but still produce plenty of peppers for the occasional spicy dish
Productivity
Very productive. One plant can produce up to 5lbs (2.3kg) of peppers over an entire season
FAQ
Are habaneros and scotch bonnets the same?
No, they are slightly different peppers that have similar heat and flavors.
Habanero vs Scotch Bonnet
Both have a fruity flavor, but scotch bonnets are slightly sweeter.
Scotch Bonnets are used more in Caribbean cooking like Jerk Chicken.
Can habanero peppers burn your skin?
Yes, the oils inside a habanero contains capsaicin which irritates the skin and causes a burning sensation.
If you get the oils on your skin wash off with soap and warm water.
I highly recommend using latex gloves when preparing Habaneros. Your hands have tougher skin than everywhere else on your body.
You might not notice the burning on your hands until it’s too late. The oils can spread without you knowing.
Once the oils are on your hands it can spread to other body parts you touch. I warned you!
The burning sensation can last hours if not washed off immediately.
Resources
Bosland, P.W. 1996. Capsicums: Innovative uses of an ancient crop. p. 479-487. In: J. Janick (ed.), Progress in new crops. ASHS Press, Arlington, VA. https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-479.html
Learn something about the Habanero? Share it along!
Let me know in the comments your favorite use for the Habanero.
The habanero, one of the spicier of the capsicum pepper genus, can be described as “fruity, citrus-like, and floral” despite its heat. It's considered an “excellent aromatic match” with bell pepper, apricot brandy, and pineapple.
The Scoville heat unit (SHU) rating is then assigned based on the quantity of dilution, with the ratings working on a linear scale: a 350,000 SHU habanero is 100 times hotter than a 3,500 SHU jalapeño.
Habanero peppers typically do not exceed 350,000 on the Scoville scale, while the ghost pepper regularly exceeds 1 million on the Scoville scale. It may be common knowledge, but it is important to note that the ghost pepper is much hotter than the habanero pepper overall.
Cooking peppers makes dishes hotter because the peppers break down while cooking and releases more capsaicin into the dish. The spiciness is then spread out throughout the dish, so it gives the sensation of an overall spicier meal.
Habaneros grow best in really hot climates like the Yucatán where they're stewed, fried, pickled and fermented, or eaten raw. They're sweet and floral, and without sounding too wine snobbish about it, they have apricot, pear, and apple flavors.
Moreover, habaneros contain potent antioxidants that may decrease the risk of cancer by inhibiting the DNA-damaging effects of free radicals. Capsaicin also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and can help treat symptoms of arthritis and headaches.
At its mildest, the Caribbean red is nearly as hot as the hottest possible common orange habanero (which is still extremely spicy.) If comparing the mildest orange variety to the hottest possible Caribbean red, the red can be four times hotter easily.
Crops of chili peppers not hot may be a combination of improper soil and site situations, variety, or even poor cultivation practices. Chili pepper heat is borne in the membranes surrounding the seeds. If you get healthy fruit, they will have a full interior of the pithy hot membranes and a higher heat range.
Habanero: The heat – what's the spice difference? The habanero is a very hot pepper with a Scoville heat rating ranging from 100,000 – 350,000. The ghost pepper (also known as Bhut Jolokia) is significantly hotter at 855,000 to 1,041, 427 Scoville heat units.
Habanero Scoville units are a whopping 150,000 to 575,000 SHU. Thai chili peppers measure 50,000 to 100,000 SHU. Chile de Arbol Scoville units are 15,000 to 65,000 SHU. Cayenne pepper measures 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.
The Carolina Reaper is officially the Worlds Hottest Pepper as ranked by Guinness Book of World Records. It's hot, and by hot, we mean HOT! The Carolina Reaper can top-out at 2.2 Million SHU!
'Bhut Jolokia'—The World's Hottest Known Chile Pepper is a Putative Naturally Occurring Interspecific Hybrid. In replicated trials at Las Cruces, N.M., the Scoville heat units (SHUs) of 'Bhut Jolokia', a chile pepper from Assam, India, reached one million SHUs.
Freezer: Place whole habanero peppers in a freezer bag or airtight container and put them in the freezer. You can then use these frozen peppers straight from the freezer. Frozen habanero peppers will last for up to a year in the freezer.
One single pepper, or even part of one, may be enough for your taste. Follow your recipe as well as your tolerance level (and that of your guests). You don't want the dish to become so hot and painful that no one can enjoy it.
How long do chopped habanero peppers last in the fridge? Properly stored, chopped peppers will last for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. Can you freeze chopped peppers? Yes, to freeze: Place in airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags, or wrap tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
The rich antioxidant and phenolic compounds explain the benefits of habanero pepper. It is a member of the capsicum family and has many benefits. Habanero pepper may reduce cancer risk, promote weight loss, lower cholesterol levels, and protect against cardiovascular disease.
When capsaicin enters the stomach, it can stimulate the production of gastric mucus and temporarily speed up metabolism. As your stomach works to digest the spicy food, you may experience pain or cramping, but again, it won't cause actual damage. If the food is really hot, it may lead to nausea or vomiting.
The short answer is that habaneros can be picked while still green, but they may or may not change color off the plant. Green pods will only ripen to their mature color if the ripening process had already begun before picking.
Realistically, peppers do continue to ripen on their own after you've picked them, so even if you keep them in a small bin at room temperature, they should ripen up for you in about a week or two, though be sure to check on them periodically to make sure none of them goes bad.
Good for you. Because there's new evidence that capsaicin -- the ingredient that makes jalapenos, habaneros and red pepper flakes blisteringly hot -- ups fat burning and lowers blood pressure.
Among the properties of habanero pepper are its high levels of capsaicin, an active chemical compound in hot peppers, which works as a natural anti-inflammatory that helps treat arthritis and headaches.
Chilli peppers hold promise of preventing liver damage and progression. Summary: New research shows that the daily consumption of capsaicin, the active compound of chilli peppers, was found to have beneficial effects on liver damage.
How To Cook with Scotch Bonnet Peppers. Anyone who has been on vacation in Jamaica has probably encountered Scotch bonnet peppers. This is the pepper of choice in Jamaica, but they are often referred to as the Caribbean Red Peppers because they can be found in many areas throughout the Caribbean.
Are my habanero peppers ripe and ready to pick? Habanero peppers typically turn bright orange or red when fully mature. They are 1 to 2.5 inches long and get hotter as they mature to their final orange or red color. Use a knife or garden clippers to remove peppers from the plant to prevent any damage to the plant.
The habanero chile (Capsicum chinense Jacquin) (originally Spanish “Javanero”) is one of the most intensely spicy chili peppers of the Capsicum genus. Unripe habaneros are green, but the color at maturity varies.
De-seed your 12 habanero peppers to cut down on the heat.
Most of the habanero's heat is in the white pith and seeds, so removing them makes your peppers much more palatable (don't worry—they'll still be plenty hot!). Slice the peppers open and use a sharp knife to cut away the white membranes and seeds.
The skin of a habanero is thin, but it can be tough to break down with your teeth. To remove the skin, roast the peppers over a gas or coal grill for ten minutes or roast them in the oven for the same amount of time. This will loosen the skin of the pepper and make it easier to peel off.
The longer a hot pepper ages, the spicier they become. The amount of capsaicin in the fruit increases over time, so if you can wait until those green jalapeños turn red, then you're in for a much spicier experience.
The hottest pepper in 2022 is, you guessed it, the Carolina Reaper! Yep, the Hottest Pepper in 2022 is still the Carolina Reaper! The wickedly hot Carolina Reaper is still holding the Guinness World Record crown again in 2022 for being the world's hottest pepper.
Which chili is spicier? We consider our Habanero peppers to be “very hot” and Scotch Bonnets to be “hot.” On a scale from 1 to 5, we would rate Habaneros 4/5 and Scotch Bonnets 3/5. So Habaneros are just a little bit spicier.
In fact, dragon's breath is so intense it could kill you, according to its St. Asaph-based developer Mike Smith. He says dragon's breath clocks in with a Scoville rating of 2.48 million. That's almost one million units higher than a Carolina reaper, which has an average of 1.57 million.
As we've mentioned before, Wasabi is not a pepper and cannot be measured on the Scoville Scale. All we have to go on are subjective approximations. Wasabi is said to have a heat level similar to Jalapeño Peppers which fall between 2,500 SHU and 8,000 SHU .
According to some experts, they suggest that Flamin' Hot Cheetos rate around 50,000 Scoville units, but there's no evidence to back this up. That would place Cheetos at the lower end of the scale, with the Carolina Reaper pepper, being somewhere between 1.5 million and over 2 million units!
Habanero peppers are just as easily found at supermarkets as both serranos and jalapenos. However, habaneros and serranos are extremely different in almost every way. For one, habaneros are around 10x hotter than serranos. They also come from another pepper species (C.
Freezer: Place whole habanero peppers in a freezer bag or airtight container and put them in the freezer. You can then use these frozen peppers straight from the freezer. Frozen habanero peppers will last for up to a year in the freezer.
Simply put, habanero peppers will last about a year when properly stored in the freezer. Freezing habaneros and other peppers is the easiest way to make fresh harvests last all year long. If you remove some of the peppers for use, be sure to remove the air from the bag again to prevent freezer burn.
Realistically, peppers do continue to ripen on their own after you've picked them, so even if you keep them in a small bin at room temperature, they should ripen up for you in about a week or two, though be sure to check on them periodically to make sure none of them goes bad.
Freezing your habanero peppers is the easiest way to preserve them. Clean, dry and wrap them in sealable baggies or vacuum seal them if you plan to keep them longer. Pluck them from the freezer when you're ready to cook with them.
How to tell if habanero peppers are bad or spoiled? Habanero peppers that are spoiling will typically become soft and discolored; discard any habanero peppers that have an off smell or appearance.
Pick peppers when they are firm and green or wait until the end of the season when they color red. The fruit is equally good at either color, but all fruits must be removed from the plant before cool temperatures arrive in fall.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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