Grilling season is fast approaching and what better time to start serving up some hot treats. The next time you want to add a little heat to your burgers and ribs, try these hot peppers, cautiously. Growers offer some amazingly hot peppers. Here are 12 of the most popular listed from mild to Hades.
#12) Poblano – Otherwise known as the ancho chili pepper when dried, the Poblano is the mildest of all “hot” peppers. This week, juicy taste is just hot enough to make your mouth say, “Hi!”
HEAT RATING: 1 OUT OF 10
#11) Cubanelle – Most familiarly known as the banana pepper, the Cubanelle, is perfect for roasting. As for heat, it delivers just enough to make you perk up.
HEAT RATING: 1 OUT OF 10
#10) Jalapeno – When roasted and preserved, this father of the chipotle sauce offers a sweet, smoky flavor. But, watch out, your mouth may notice the heat before you do.
HEAT RATING: 2 OUT OF 10
#9) Serrano – Pico de Gallo salsa just wouldn’t be the same without the mid-heat Serrano pepper. Probably the hottest peppers you will find in the market, there is no need to fiddle, just chop and eat.
HEAT RATING: 3 OUT OF 10
#8) Cayenne – Moving up on the heat scale, the Cayenne is used readily in kitchens across America in the powder form. Thought to improve circulation, people are braving its heat more often today than ever before.
HEAT RATING: 5 OUT OF 10
#7) Aji – Very similar to the Cayenne pepper, the Aji Pepper is a relative newbie. But Peru grown pepper is common in Latin dishes.
HEAT RATING: 5 OUT OF 10
#6) Rocoto – Even though the Rocoto pepper shares the middle of the heat scale with the Cayenne and Aji peppers, this apple shaped fruit has black seeds, warning you of the long-lasting heat it delivers.
HEAT RATING: 5 OUT OF 10
#5) Tabasco – Taking us on a first step toward Hades, the Tabasco pepper is most familiar to Americans as a hot sauce ingredient. But, beware, this pepper delivers heat reminiscent of an open flame (in your mouth).
HEAT RATING: 6 OUT OF 10
#4) Thai – If you ever wanted to be a fire breather, the Thai pepper can help. Bordering on insane heat levels, this pepper’s lava- like feeling only lasts a short time. (You can remove the heat source by discarding the membrane holding in the seeds).
HEAT RATING: 7 OUT OF 10
#3) Chiltepin – Very popular in the Southwest due to bird droppings, the Chiltepin pepper, is considered the “mother of all chilies.” Birds can’t taste the heat, so they eat the peppers and sow the seeds in return.
HEAT RATING: 8 OUT OF 10
#2) Habanero – You have now entered Crazyville. The Habanero pepper has long been deemed the hottest pepper on Earth. Measuring 50 times the heat of the Jalapeno, this pepper can burn you way before it hits your mouth. So, don’t smell too close.
HEAT RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
#1) Bhut Jolokia – Now known to be the hottest pepper EVER, the Bhut Jolokia pepper, ranks more than one million on the Scoville rankings. There is absolutely no way to consume this pepper and survive.
HEAT RATING: 10 OUT OF 10
Eating hot peppers has become a rite of passage of sorts. Daring your best friend to eat a whole Jalapeno pepper is okay. You may even get away with a Cayenne pepper. But, if he or she slams down the Hades of all peppers, the Bhut Jolokia, you better have an ambulance waiting.
