How Many Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers Per Plant?

Description

• The pepper is between 5 and 8 inches long with a long, tapering body. During its initial growing period, it has a translucent pale yellow color that turns bright orange or red as it matures. The flesh is thick and covered with a thin, delicate skin. The hotness of Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers varies more than any other chile pepper and can range from 100 to 15,000 on the Scoville Heat Scale, the standard by which the heat of all chile peppers is measured, depending on when they are harvested.

History

• Hungarians started using hot peppers for cooking between 1538 and 1548, when the Hungarian Wax was developed from crossing the mild Hungarian Banana Pepper with various hot chile peppers. In 1932, the Hungarian Wax was launched in Canada and the U.S., where it quickly gained popularity. The variety is now grown all over the continent.

Cultivation

• Despite its classification as an annual and treatment as one through yearly cultivation, Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers are actually self-pollinating herbaceous perennials. They cannot be grown as perennials due to their aversion to frost. The best temperatures to grow them are 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit after sundown.

Harvest

• Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers are harvested twice, once when they first turn yellow and again when they turn orange or red. The yellow peppers are slightly sweet and have minimal heat. As they change color, the heat intensifies. It takes around 59 days from planting for the peppers to turn yellow and about 84 days until they become red. They are harvested by cutting the stem about an inch from the top of the pepper if they are going to be dried or pickled.

Culinary Uses

• Based on their medium hotness, Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers are good eaten raw or cooked and are good substitutes for jalapenos in recipes when less heat is desired. They are easy to dry and can be frozen or pickled. Spicy-sweet jellies and chutneys frequently include Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers. For a variety of colors and flavors, use a mixture of yellow and red peppers in dishes.