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Know Your Commodity REFERENCES — Chile Peppers
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Know Your Commodity
REFERENCES
Published by Blue Book Services
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Chile Peppers
SEASONAL AVAILABILITY
ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA
FLORIDA*
NEW MEXICO
TEXAS
MEXICO
Note: *Trade information indicates rising production and volume.
Sources: Arizona Department of Agriculture, California Agricultural Statistics Review, New Mexico State University, Produce Marketing Association,
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, University of Florida IFAS Extension, University of Georgia Extension, USDA.
COMMON VARIETIES
Anaheim or New Mexican peppers are among the most commonly used, especially in Mexican cuisine. They are juicy, light, crispy, and sweet
when fresh. Anaheims are cylindrical peppers six to ten inches long. They are harvested green for fresh use and canning. They also are harvested
red for dehydration and ground into powders for use in sauces.
Poblano peppers are called anchos when dried. They are flat, wrinkled, and heart-shaped, ranging in color from deep red to almost black.
Poblanos have a fruity, smoky flavor.
Immature jalapeños are hot when they are green but gain pungency and a red color as they ripen. They also increase in sweetness as they mature.
These bullet-shaped peppers reach between two and three inches in length and up to one inch in width. When smoked, dried jalapeños are
called chipotles. They are preserved by smoking instead of air-drying because of their thick flesh.
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Know Your Commodity REFERENCES — Chile Peppers
COMMON VARIETIES—CONTINUED
Serranos are often the easiest pepper to find fresh in the grocery store. Green serranos are available year-round, while red serranos are best
purchased in the spring and fall. They range between one and two inches in length and a half inch in width. A larger serrano variety, called
Largo, can be twice that size.
Hungarian wax peppers are referred to as wax pods because of their shiny appearance. Pods vary greatly in size and shape and are usually yellow
when immature. They can be sweet or pungent and are most commonly used fresh or for pickling. The Hungarian wax is closely related to the
mild banana pepper.
Although available fresh, cayenne peppers are mostly ground into red pepper or incorporated into hot sauces. When fresh, cayenne peppers
appear wrinkly and may be either deep green or bright red when mature. They range between five and ten inches long. The red, mature pepper
is hotter than the green.
Thai peppers are small and seldom grow larger than one to three inches long. These slightly curvy, potent peppers are typically bright red or
deep green and end in a sharp point. Thai peppers are extremely hot, though they can vary in their heat ratings.
The habanero is a fiery-hot, box-shaped small pepper turning from green to orange, red, yellow, or white when ripe. The red savina habanero
is 30 to 50 times hotter than the jalapeño. Scotch bonnets are closely related to and sometimes mistaken for habaneros.
PESTS & DISEASE
Common Pests:
A broad range of pests can wreak havoc with developing peppers, including several types of aphids, beetles, caterpillars, mites,
stinkbugs, thrips, weevils, and worms, as well as fire ants, borers, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, leafminers, maggots, mealybugs, psyllids,
and whiteflies.
Common Diseases:
Chile peppers are susceptible to many diseases and pathogens including anthracnose, bacterial leafspot, botrytis or gray mold,
powdery mildew, and tobacco mosaic virus, as well as soil-related diseases such as nematodes, verticillium wilt, and phytophthora rot.
Verticillium wilt is one of the most common soilborne chile diseases. The fungus penetrates the plant roots and causes severe
wilting of infected plants. Early symptoms include yellowing of lower leaves and stunting.
Phytophthora root rot, commonly referred to as chile wilt, is another very common soilborne chile disease. It generally occurs
under excessively wet conditions, usually in heavy soil or low spots in the field. Infected plants exhibit severe wilting, will die, and
turn straw-colored.
Tobacco mosaic virus is a common and widespread virus with a wide host range of crops and weeds. Common symptoms on chile
peppers are raised bumps and mottled light and dark green areas on leaves. Fruit is stunted and ripens unevenly. Humans and
equipment transmit this virus, which can remain infectious for years in crop debris and in seeds.
GOOD ARRIVAL GUIDELINES
Generally speaking, the percentage of defects shown on a timely government inspection certificate should not exceed the percentage of
allowable defects, provided: (1) transportation conditions were normal; (2) the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspection was timely; and (3) the entire lot was inspected.
U.S. Grade
Standards
Days Since
Shipment
% of Defects
Allowed
Optimum
Transit Temp. (°F)
10-5-2
5
15-8-4
45-55
4
14-8-4
3
13-7-3
2
12-6-2
1
10-5-2
There are no good arrival guidelines for this commodity specific to Canada; U.S. guidelines apply to shipments unless otherwise
agreed by contract.
Sources: DRC, PACA, USDA.
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Know Your Commodity REFERENCES — Chile Peppers
COMPATIBILITY
QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS
Chile peppers should not be sprinkled or top-iced;
dried chile peppers should be kept dry. They
produce very low levels of ethylene. To maintain
quality, store peppers away from ethylene-producing
fruits and ripening rooms.
The flesh should be firm and thick with a bright skin color
and sweet flavor. It should be free from defects such as
cracks, decay, and sunburn. Peppers that are shriveled and
dull-looking or pitted should be avoided. Dry lines or
striations across the skin indicate a hotter pepper and are not
an indication of poor quality.
TEMPERATURE
MATURITY INDICES
45°F (7°C)
90 to 95% relative humidity
Chile peppers are harvested by hand. They are generally picked
when ripe and then dried in covered piles. Major peppers that
are dried include hot red peppers for cayenne and occasionally
pimientos for paprika. Pods may be sliced before drying, which
shortens drying time and improves color and flavor. Screening and
water sprays can remove the chile pepper’s seeds.
SCOVILLE HEAT UNIT SCALE
The Scoville scale is the industry standard used to measure the hotness of a chile pepper. Scoville ratings may vary considerably within
a species, depending on seed lineage, climate, and soil.
The following table gives the approximate Scoville units for some common varieties of chile pepper.
Chile Variety
Approximate Scoville Units
Anaheim
Poblano
Jalapeño
Serrano
Cayenne
500–2,500
1,000–1,500
2,500–5,000
5,000–20,000
30,000–50,000
Thai
Habanero, Scotch Bonnet
Ghost Pepper
Trinidad Scorpion
75,000–150,000
100,000–300,000
1,000,000+
1,400,000+
Sources: New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute, University of California, Davis, University of Oregon North Willamette
Research and Extension Center.
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