Sizzling hot peppers

Sunset, Feb, 1995 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

Of 16 we grew and tasted, 5 fired the tongue

Their colors say it all - fire engine red and flaming orange. But the five peppers shown above aren't just hot. They're the hottest of the hot, the ones that sizzle on the tongue when you bite into them.

How do we know? We torched our mouths putting them to the test. You might ask why anyone would want to grow such hot peppers, let alone taste them.

Even if you're not a fan of hot peppers in cooking, their ornamental value alone is reason to grow them. In the late summer and fall vegetable garden, the handsome red or orange fruits hanging from plants look like colorful ornaments. They also make festive ristras when strung together with needle and thread.

A confirmed hot pepper fanatic will grow these peppers to make a truly awesome hot sauce with vinegar or to flavor a favorite oil. And when dried and crushed into pepper flakes, they're great for spicing up pizzas or sauces.

THESE PEPPERS AREN'T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

To determine which peppers were hottest, we chose peppers described in catalogs as very hot and ended up growing 16 kinds in Sunset's Menlo Park, California, test garden. Since they were grown in a mild coastal climate, the peppers didn't taste as hot as they would have if grown in a warm inland climate (thank goodness).

Which pepper was tops? In our taste test, it was the flaming orange 'Habanero', reportedly six times hotter than 'Jalapeno'. "It burned all the way up to the tip of my ears," says one taster. The burn in another's mouth went from "0 to 200 in 4.2 seconds!" One taster describes 'Habanero' as "a pepper worthy of respect." Most tasters preferred its distinctive flavor.

'Zimbabwe' came in a close second in our tests, although it typically should be twice as hot as 'Habanero'. "Look out!" was the response when two tasters bit into it at the same time. 'Zimbabwe' is a bird pepper (Capsicum annuum aviculare) related to chiltepin ('Tepin'), an undomesticated pepper that is considered the world's hottest and which we found more difficult to grow. Another pepper called 'Merah' (C. frutescens) is also purportedly more fiery than 'Habanero', but it also wasn't hotter grown in our coastal climate.

'Pico de Gallo' ("a slow burn"), 'Thai' ("it burns the back of my throat"), and 'Coban' ("the only one that got my lips") came in third, fourth, and fifth. Although not as hot as 'Habanero' or 'Zimbabwe', they definitely aren't for sissies.

SEEDS NEED WARMTH TO GERMINATE

Sow seeds in flats or containers filled with potting mix or a mixture of peat moss and vermiculite. Keep the soil temperature above 80 [degrees] if possible (use a heating cable, or set pots on a water heater). When seeds germinate, move flats into bright light for about eight weeks. Plant outdoors when soil has thoroughly warmed (mid- to late spring). In cool climates, plant through black plastic and cover with row covers. Keep soil evenly moist. Harvest when mature (and at their hottest) but still green or, for best flavor, wait until they turn red or orange.

WHERE TO GET SEEDS

Native Seeds/SEARCH, 2509 N. Campbell Ave., Box 325, Tucson 85719; catalog $1. Sells chiltepin, 'Coban', 'Pico de Gallo'.

Redwood City Seed Co., Box 361, Redwood City, Calif. 94064; catalog $1. Sells 'Habanero', 'Thai', 'Tepin', 'Zimbabwe'.