108 distiller
Most Padron peppers are about 500 SHU. Eating them
one at a time is a little like a game of roulette, as a batch
of Padron chilies always contains a few hot ones up to
2,500 SHU. Using Padron peppers in products, you will
be working with an average heat of around 700 SHU, as
the odds of getting a hot one are about 1 in 10.
Well known and slightly hotter are jalapeno peppers
at 2,500–8,000 SHU. In cooking they are mild enough,
when the concentration of heat contained in their seeds
and inner membrane is removed, to be served whole.
While they have the advantages of easy sourcing, mild
heat and high name recognition, their aroma does not
reach the perfumed complexity that habanero chili vari-
eties possess.
ere are chili peppers that have regional origins and
cultural associations within communities in the US.
Although the ratio of flavor to heat is skewed toward heat,
they can be used judiciously in small amounts so that
their presence is felt in the end product but not excessive.
Chiltepin peppers are a wild subspecies (Capsicum
annuum var. glabriusculum) that grows in the southern
US. Pea-sized but powerfully hot, they range through
50,000–100,000 SHU. Although not much is needed
to make its presence felt in a drink, supplies of chiltepin
may become increasingly unstable. Due to the increase
in extreme weather events in southern states and Mexico,
which affects chiltepin during their growing season, these
wild plants are not producing reliable crops.
First recorded in print in 1901, fish pepper was cer-
tainly here earlier. It is part of African-American cultural
heritage as a food plant brought to the US and nurtured
over generations. Named for its use in hot sauce served
with seafood, it does not in itself taste of fish. At 5,000–
30,000 SHU, these chilies offer a range of heat, which is
Clockwise from top left — Vampire chilies;
Nosferatu chilies; and 7 pot brain strain
chilies
