Red Jalapeño Chile Peppers

 Description/Taste

Red Jalapeño chile peppers are curved to straight pods, averaging 5 to 15 centimeters in length and 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter, and have a conical shape tapering to a rounded point on the non-stem end. The skin is smooth, taut, and glossy, ripening from dark green to red when mature. More mature peppers will also exhibit characteristic cracks near their stem end. This streaking is known as corking and is a pepper characteristic sought after in Mexico. Underneath the surface, the thick flesh is crisp, red, and aqueous, encasing a central cavity filled with round and flat, cream-colored seeds. Red Jalapeño chile peppers have an earthy, vegetal, and sweet flavor mixed with a mild to moderate level of spice.

Seasons/Availability

Red Jalapeño Chile peppers are available year-round.

Current Facts

Red Jalapeño chile peppers, botanically classified as Capsicum annuum, are the mature pods of one of the most popular peppers in the world and belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family. Named after its city of origin Xalapa, also spelled Jalapa, in Mexico, Red Jalapeño chile peppers are a moderately hot variety ranging 2,500-10,000 SHU on the Scoville scale. The peppers are rare to find in commercial markets due to their extended growing season and are often overshadowed by their green counterparts. Despite their limited availability, Red Jalapeño chile peppers are popularly used in the production of chipotle pepper and salsa.

Nutritional Value

Red Jalapeño chile peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C and contain copper, magnesium, vitamins A, E, and K, folate, manganese, fiber, potassium, and iron. The peppers also contain capsaicin, which is the chemical compound that triggers the brain to feel heat or spice. Capsaicin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and can help aid in digestion.

Applications

Red Jalapeño chile peppers are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as grilling, roasting, baking, stir-frying, and simmering. The mature peppers can be used as a substitute for green jalapeño chile peppers in recipes, and the pods can be sliced and stirred into dips, salsa, guacamole, and sauces. The peppers can also be mixed into casseroles and mac and cheese, tossed into soups and stews, used as a filling in tamales, stuffed with cheeses and grains, or roasted with cooked meats. In addition to cooked preparations, Red Jalapeño chile peppers can be baked into cornbread and kneaded into pasta dough, or they can be pickled for extended use as a condiment. Red Jalapeño chile peppers pair well with meats such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, cheeses such as cheddar, swiss, and cream cheese, corn, tomatoes, garlic, onions, green onions, potatoes, and citrus. Fresh peppers will keep up to one week when stored whole and unwashed in a paper bag in the refrigerator. The peppers can also be frozen up to three months.

Ethnic/Cultural Info

Red Jalapeño chile peppers are most famous for their use as a chipotle pepper, which is a term used for a dried and smoked Red Jalapeño chile pepper. Once dried, the peppers can be ground into a powder, used whole as a flavoring, or mixed into adobo sauce for added smoky flavors. Chipotle peppers are considered to be an integral earthy and spicy flavoring in regional Tex-Mex cuisine, which is a version of Mexican food that was created in Texas in the United States. Red Jalapeño chile peppers are so prevalent in Texas that they were also deemed the state pepper in 1995.

Geography/History

Jalapeños are native to Xalapa, which is the capital city of Veracruz, Mexico, and have been cultivated since ancient times. Spanish and Portuguese explorers introduced the pepper to Europe and Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries, and since then, the peppers have become cultivated worldwide. Before the twentieth century, Red Jalapeño chile peppers were more commonly sold at the market in its dried and smoked form known as chile ahumados or chipotle peppers. As the variety increased in popularity, farmers began to also sell the fresh, mature red pods as an additional source of income. Today the majority of jalapeño commercial production is located in northern Veracruz, Chihuahua, specifically Delicias, and the lower Palaloapan River Valley in the state of Oaxaca. Its popularity in the United States as a commercially produced pepper has also grown significantly since the 1980s and is cultivated in New Mexico, Texas, and California.