How to Tell If a Pimento Pepper Plant Is Hot?

Pimento peppers can range from sweet to very spicy.

Pimento refers to a type of pepper, and there are many different peppers in varying degrees of heat intensity that are classified as pimentos. When growing pimento peppers in your garden, it is important to know how sweet or spicy a pepper is before preparing it in your kitchen. Though even the spiciest of pimento peppers are mild in comparison to the jalapeno or habanero pepper, identification is still essential. Identifying how hot your pimento peppers are is easy to do, and will make it easy for you to figure out which recipes your peppers are best suited for.

Things You'll Need

• Knife

Instructions

1. Look at the color of the pimento peppers as they begin to mature. A pimento pepper that matures from green to red or yellow to orange is a sweet pepper that is very mild. A pimento pepper that matures from green to yellow, or any color pimento that matures into a dark shade of red, signifies a hot, spicy pepper.

2. Look at the shape of your pimento peppers. Bell- and squash-shaped pimentos are generally sweet to mildly spicy peppers. Some sweet varieties of pimento peppers include the tangerine pimento and the perfection pimento pepper. Long, cone-shaped pimentos are typically spicy peppers. The de chiero pimento and the de padron pimento are spicier varieties.

3. Cut into a pepper that is fully matured and slice the pimento in half. Smell the pepper and test the heat of the pepper's smell inside of your nostrils. A sweet pepper will smell fragrant and sweet, while a spicier pepper will cause a slight burning sensation inside of your nose. If you are still unsure of the heat of the pepper, dip your finger into the pepper and touch your finger to your tongue to judge how spicy the pepper is.

References

• The Chile Man: Pimento Chile Peppers