Know Your Pepper Varieties

The heat of the summer means it’s pepper season, and we couldn’t be more excited. We love how some peppers have more crunchiness than others and varying levels of heat. But with so many types of peppers, keeping track of them all can be a challenge. Which ones are sweet? Which ones are spicy? Is it best eaten raw, blistered or cooked? We’ve created a handy description of various different types of peppers you might see in your delivery, so the next time you’re looking for the perfect pepper, you’ll know exactly which one to pick!

Bell Peppers: Mild

Bell peppers are a large-sized pepper with no heat. They have a crunchy, thicker flesh. Typically, you remove the seeds from bell peppers, but they aren’t spicy like a jalapeño’s seeds. These versatile peppers are great for cooking, but can also be eaten raw, including in this refreshing blueberry bell pepper salsa. Try cutting them into strips to dip in hummus, add to your favorite vegetable stir-fry, chop into salad, or stuff with your favorite fillings and bake. Red bell peppers are sweeter than green bells, as they’ve had more time to ripen on the vine. Purple bell peppers taste similar to a green bell pepper but have a thinner skin.

Jalapeño: Hot

Jalapeño peppers are a medium-sized spicy pepper with a crunchy flesh similar to that of a bell pepper. The seeds and membrane inside the pepper are the spiciest; remove that part of the pepper if you want a milder flavor. Jalapeño peppers are versatile in that they can be eaten raw, pickled or cooked. We love adding jalapeño peppers to guacamole, salsas, Thai curry dishes that call for hot peppers and much more. Helpful Hint: Don’t rub your eyes after handling hot peppers. If you get jalapeño juices in or near your eye, put milk on a washcloth and hold it over your eye.

Corno Di Toro: Mild

Corno di Toro peppers are medium-to-large sized peppers with no heat. They have a crunchy flesh similar to that of a bell pepper or Cubanelle pepper. The peppers have seeds that are typically removed. These versatile peppers are good raw, dipped in hummus, stir-fried with other veggies, roasted (for our fabulous tartine recipe!) or stuffed with your favorite fillings and baked.

Shishito Peppers: Mild

Shishito peppers are a small to medium-sized pepper with a crunchy yet thinner skin than most peppers. They’re typically mild (although occasionally you’ll find a spicy one) and can be eaten raw, including the seeds. However, our favorite way to eat Shishito peppers is to blister them in sesame or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. We’ve also grilled them and stuffed them with goat cheese, another fantastic treat.

Mini Sweet Mix Pepper: Mild/Sweet

Just like the name says, these mini sweet peppers have a gentle flavor and crunchy texture similar to that of a Cubanelle or bell pepper. Mini sweet peppers are a hybrid of a bell pepper and a hot pepper with no heat. We love to dip them whole into hummus or other favorite dips, and we also use them in salads, stir-fries and other dishes such as this skillet Ratatouille with Okra.

Padron Peppers: Medium

Padron peppers are a small pepper that have a mild to fiery heat. They have a crunchy, yet thinner skin and look very similar to a Shishito pepper. Padron peppers can be eaten raw, including the seeds, or sauté with high heat in sesame or grapeseed oil and sprinkle with salt. We also love them in our Padron pepper tapenade and sliced inside quesadillas.

Pimiento Pepper: Mild

Pimiento peppers are a small pepper with a crunchy texture similar to a bell pepper. They’re a mild pepper and can be eaten raw. The most common place to see a pimiento pepper is stuffed in a green olive or in pimiento cheese. We also like using them in stir-fries, corn bread or paella and as a substitute for red bell peppers in this lovely watermelon gazpacho recipe.

Cubanelle Pepper: Mild

Cubanelle peppers are known for their flamboyant color variations since they ripen from a light greenish yellow to orange and then red. These peppers are a medium-sized pepper with a thin and crunchy texture. The seeds are typically removed, but they aren’t spicy like the jalapeño. They are great eaten raw as a snack, dipped in hummus or ranch dip, added to salads and grilled. We’ve used them in stir fries, curries, salads and baked. If a recipe calls for a bell pepper, often times a Cubanelle pepper can be substituted.

How To Add Pepper Varieties To Your Delivery: Full Circle Members – head on over to our online Farm Stand Market to customize your upcoming delivery. Market is open from about noon on Thursday until 6pm on your cut off date. After you confirm your produce items, click the orange button “Confirm and Continue To Other Farm Products” to add artisan grocery items to your delivery.

Not part of our farm family? Find out if we deliver to your neighborhood.