Capsicum annuum Seeds | Jalape Chile Pepper Jalapeno
LATIN NAME: Capsicum annuum
COMMON NAME: Jalapeño
Plant Profile
Jalapeño is the thick-walled green chile of Mexican cooking, a squat oval pod 5-8 cm long, dark green and glossy, ripening through red to a dull brick colour. Plants are compact, 60-90 cm, with a heavy set that continues for weeks if the fruit is picked.
Heat is moderate, 2,500-8,000 Scoville units, and it varies between plants and between seasons: a stressed jalapeño can be twice as hot as a pampered one. The flavour is green and slightly sweet, with a grassy note that survives pickling and roasting.
The variety comes from the Veracruz region of Mexico and is now grown worldwide. The name is protected in Mexico, and the smoked, dried form is sold as chipotle, which is the same fruit taken through a different process.
Science & Biotechnology
The corky striations that appear on ripe jalapeños, sometimes called corking, are a response of the skin to rapid growth and are not a defect. Fruit with fine white lines is often slightly hotter, because the same stress that causes the corking also concentrates capsaicin.
Capsaicin is produced in the placental tissue and is measured in Scoville units, a dilution scale now largely replaced in laboratories by chromatography. The compound is a vanilloid that binds the TRPV1 receptor, which normally responds to heat above 43°C, and that is why the brain reads chile as temperature.
Smoke-drying is a chemical transformation as much as a preservation method: the wood smoke deposits phenols on the skin, the fruit loses most of its water, and the flavour deepens from green and sharp toward sweet and tobacco-like. That is why a chipotle tastes nothing like a fresh jalapeño.
Uses & Benefits
Fresh jalapeños go into salsas, guacamole, nachos, pickles and poppers, and they are the chile most often called for in recipes written outside Mexico. Sliced into rings and pickled with carrot and onion, they are a standard taco garnish.
The smoked and dried form, chipotle, is a different ingredient entirely: it goes into adobo, into marinades and into soups where a slow, sweet heat is wanted. In the garden a jalapeño plant is productive enough that two are usually more than a household can eat, and the surplus pickles well.
Growing from Seed
Sow at 24-28°C, 5 mm deep, eight weeks before planting out, and expect germination in two to three weeks. Bottom heat speeds it considerably. Grow on at 18-20°C with as much light as possible, or the seedlings will be leggy and slow to flower.
Plant out at 45 cm apart once the soil is warm, in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Water steadily and mulch to prevent the blossom end rot that comes with irregular watering. Feed lightly until flowering, then with a potassium-rich fertiliser. Pick green for immediate use, or leave the pods to redden for chipotle-style smoking and for seed.
Our Take
The most useful chile in the catalogue for a general kitchen, and the one whose surplus turns into chipotle with a little smoke and patience.
Related Reading
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