Heatless Habaneros

Perhaps you have seen the jewel-bright red and orange habanero peppers in our Farm Store recently. Perhaps they’ve conjured sense-memories of burning mouths, watering eyes, and churning bellies - if these are sensations that don’t bring you any particular joy, you may still want to try our habanero peppers. While they are identical to traditional habaneros, the varieties that we are offering this year are categorized as “heatless habaneros”. 

Habaneros are known for their complex, fruity flavor (often described as melon- or citrus-like), but their moderate heat (up to 300,000 Scoville units) can be a deterrent to some people. Heatless habaneros were developed in the early 2000’s by a Cornell University plant breeder who discovered a naturally-occurring heatless “hot” pepper which he described as “tasting pretty bad”. Despite the underwhelming flavor, he recognized the find as an opportunity to create a unique hot pepper that was not hot at all. He crossed this plant with flavorful habaneros until he obtained a habanero without even a hint of heat. 

Heatless habaneros are not sweet peppers - there is a subtle sweetness, but they taste very different from the bell peppers, roasting peppers, and lunchbox peppers that we all know and love. The flavor, however, is unusual, delightful, and totally habanero. You can use them in any recipe that calls for habaneros or even sweet peppers - but to truly appreciate the wonder that is the heatless habanero, simply saute a few of them with a bit of oil and salt until tender. Enjoy!