Habanero chiles are one happy looking bunch. They have super bright colors that go from green to yellow, and then orange to red as they mature. They are small, cute, shinny and have a waxy skin. But as much as their looks are inviting, they are the spiciest chiles in Mexican cuisine. They are incredibly fierce. With a rating of 300,000 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale for measuring hotness of a chili pepper, you can get an idea of how hot they are: Jalapeños go around 10,000 to 15,000.
Habaneros are a crucial ingredient for the regional cuisine of the Yucatan Peninsula. They are native of that region, though ironically, they are named after the Cuban city of Habana as they were traded there, heavily, centuries ago.
They are very easy to grow indoors and are beautiful to look at, so it is quite common to find them in kitchen pots, not only in Mexico!
Comments
6comments inHabanero Chile
Julieta Pontecorvo
Sep 11
Pati
I made this Habanero Chili for my husband and son-in-law.
All the salsas I have made for my husband
he says , “it’s ok “ . I ask him if it’s hot he
says “No”. So I made him the Habanero
Salsa. Now, he said it has a real kick to it.
He likes it. Thank You, Julie
Pati Jinich
Oct 03
So glad you found the one to please him Julie. Hugs to both of you 🙂
Meg McAlister
Aug 08
We love habaneros – indeed, we love all the Mexican chilis and grow most kinds in our garden. This year I also planted a ghost pepper plant which is producing a huge number of chilis. Do you have any suggestions for how to use or preserve them? I’m thinking about maybe making a hot pepper jelly with dried apricots (to marinade pork or chicken in the jelly or just serve on top of a block of cream cheese with crackers) or pickling thin slices of them to stuff in grilled bacon wrapped butterflied shrimp. I’m kind of scared of them due to their incredible heat!
Pati
Aug 08
Hmmm I don’t cook much with ghost peppers…but what you are planning sounds yum!
Lyn
Sep 15
love this! we really like spicy. I actually used 6 habaneros (I grew my habaneros and my plant had produced 6 (why waste 2 peppers?)I removed some of the seeds, but not all.
A
Pati Jinich
Sep 17
Hola! Six habaneros!!? You are brave.