Have you experienced a jalapeño with a surprising lack of a kick? If your jalapeños are not as spicy as expected, there are many reasons why it may be the case. Let’s break down what may be happening with your bunch.
Sweet Poppers is a no-heat jalapeño that gives you all the flavor without the burn! These peppers are earlier to fruit and produce high yields with well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. The soil must drain well, yet hold enough moisture to keep the plants in production.
The jalapeño membrane may have been removed before using
The majority of pepper heat doesn’t come from the fleshy walls of the pepper. Rather, it comes from the white membrane inside the chili. If that membrane is stripped out (along with the seeds that have some heat as well), you’ll be pulling out a significant amount of spiciness from your jalapeño.
The chilies may have received too much water while growing
We reference this above under the natural heat range, but it’s worth mentioning separately, too. Jalapeños (or any hot peppers) that are strained via less watering tend to be hotter. So the opposite is also true. Chilies that receive plenty of water while growing tend to be milder.
This could be intentional or unintentional. Green jalapeños grown for mass-market retail, could be receiving plenty of water to keep them at the milder end of their heat range.
–> Learn More: How To Grow Hotter Peppers
3 Reasons why your Peppers Aren’t Getting Hot/Spicy
FAQ
Which jalapeños are not hot?
What is the mildest jalapeno pepper?
What are the non hot jalapeno peppers?
What pepper is less hot than a jalapeno?
How do Chiles get hot?
Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chiles their heat, is concentrated around the seeds and in the ribs. The flesh of the chile that is closer to the seeds will be hotter than the flesh near the tip.
What are the healthy substitutes of jalapeno?
The healthy substitutes of jalapeno are: 1. Serrano pepper: When compared with the jalapeno pepper, the serrano pepper has very similar taste. They are bright but don’t have the same level of bitterness. 2. Fresno peppers: Another jalapeno look alike pepper is the fresno peppers. They also have same heat range but fresno peppers are sometimes little hotter and can be up to 10,000 SHU. Fresno peppers have a crisp, smokey and fruity flavour. 3. Anaheim peppers: If jalapeno peppers are too hot, then Anaheim peppers are best choice. They have milder heat and have sweeter in taste.
Are red chiles Hot?
The red ones can be pretty hot, especially if they have a lot of striations, but they are also sweeter than the green. If you are trying to avoid the hottest jalapeños (say for a stuffed jalapeno dish), pick the chiles without any striations. If you are looking for heat, find a red or green one with plenty of white stretch marks.
Why is my pepper plant so hot?
A pepper plant that is stressed, having the soil get dry between infrequent waterings, appears to have an impact on the the hotness of the pepper. The older the pepper, and the more stress the plant has been under, the more white lines you’ll see, and the hotter the pepper will be.