What Are Heirloom Hot Peppers?

Extremely Hot

• Habanero grow small, thin fleshed, golden-orange, lantern shaped fruit. The balloon is very unique with 3-inch unusually bell-shaped, thin, sweet, crunchy fleshed fruit and extremely hot seeds. Pretty in purple have deep purple stems and conical shaped fruit on 12-to18-inch plants. The Jamaican red hot produce fiery, lantern-shaped fruits on tall plants. Firecrackers have purple blossoms that develop into pointed, glossy, 1-inch fruit deepening from purple to brilliant red. Thai hot are half inch, brilliant red peppers growing on compact plants. El Chaco peppers are hotter than jalapeno, abundant, 4-inch deep orange-red, thin and slightly curved fruits. The Caribbean red ripens to a shiny, brilliant red a very prolific plant.

Extremely Pungent

• The large hot cherry is popular for pickling or canning, 1-inch, bright red, globe shaped fruits grow on 2-foot plants. Birdseye chilis are 1-inch, bright red peppers growing on bushy, compact, 1 to 1 1/2-foot tall plants. Scotch bonnet are Jamaican mushroom shaped fruit that matures to a deep yellow color that is similar to habanero, but with a shorter growing season. The tepin pepper has pea-sized, red fruit on 1 to 1 1/2-foot plants. The purple tiger has variegated foliage and tear-shaped purple fruits.

Very Hot

• Jalapeno abundantly produces the familiar green, sausage shaped fruits. Fresno chile grows 2 1/2-inch tapering green fruits, while the 2 1/2-inch fish and hinkelhatz peppers are pendant shaped and mature to a deep red color. Serrano peppers produce small, prolific, red-orange, flame shaped fruit. Red chilis grow abundantly to 1 1/2 inches in a deep red and Tabasco peppers grow almost erect on the branches. Sandia grows abundant, 6-inch, bright scarlet, thick fleshed peppers while gumdrop and nosegay both fill with unique, tiny gumdrop peppers that mature to purple, yellow, orange or red. Chiltepin are abundant 1/4 to 1/2 inch fruit. Cayenne is a group of red, yellow, purple, green and orange colored varieties that grow 3-inch, tapered fruits.

Mildly Hot

• Hot bananas produce long yellow, tapered, 6-to 8-inch fruits. The Hungarian hot wax is a good choice in colder climates and grows 8-inch yellow fruits; the black Hungarian has purple flowers with 2-to 3-inch fruits that look like jalapenos. Candlelight prolifically produces clusters of 4-to 6-brilliant red, thinly tapered, 1-inch fruits. Pasilla bajio are slightly sweet, deep brown, slender 12-inch peppers with a unique flavor. Mulato Isleno produce fat, chewy, deep reddish black, 6-inch peppers with a distinctive flavor. Joe E. Parker is a 7-inch, thick fleshed brilliant crimson pepper. Roumanian hot reliably produces 4-inch, red tapered fruit while the Georgia flame heavily produces 7-inch crunchy fruit that are not overpowering until the frost kills them. Ancho are fat, 4-inch, heart shaped fruits that mature to a reddish brown color. Anaheim chili prolifically produces red 8-inch, medium-thick fleshed fruits. Cubanella sweet are 6-inch deep red tapered peppers with a slightly irregular, thick flesh. The Italian pepperoncini are 2 to 3 inch, light green, very mild peppers.