Habanero Peppers

Meet the habanero, the much more intimidating big brother of the jalapeno.

Habaneros pack a punch with heat, but they also bring a flavor like no hot pepper on the planet. The habanero is loaded with floral and citrusy notes (Yep, notes! Those nuanced layers of flavor the gurus tout when talking wine, tea or coffee). That’s what makes habaneros perfectly piquant for my fruity hot sauces. That’s why I love em! But let’s talk pepper science for a hot minute: habaneros are about 45 times hotter than a jalapeno. The Scoville heat scale puts habanero chili peppers at 1,000 to 577,000 units. Compare that to the 100 to 500 units in a mild pepperoncino. The extra spiciness comes from capsaicin which also heats up your metabolism so kind of a win-win on flavor and function. But it’s the flavor jolt for me. Habanero + fruit = INTENTIONAL, DIMENSIONAL FLAVOR.

    "How do I choose flavors? I really don’t know. I started off with apricot because I like apricots. Then it becomes a game to see what other fruits would work. My wife likes strawberries, so I did some strawberry. It just comes to me."

    HARVEY TANNENBAUM, ON PREFERENCES