How hot are you willing to go?
Here at Heritage HQ we love cooking with chillies and have a variety of different types/heat for you to buy. In this blog we concentrate predominantly on the Habanero, it has surprising health benefits and an amazing floral, sweet and crunchy taste.
The Habanero can be used at varying stages of ripeness to give a dish different flavours. When picked green, it has a more earthy flavour with less heat. Late stages of ripeness will have a more developed and sweeter flavour.
When eaten alone, the burn can be described as forward and aggressive that fades quickly. Heat, when cooked into dishes, isn’t quite as hot.
Habanero Scoville: 100,000 – 350,000 SHU
Habanero vs Jalapeno: 12 to 100 times hotter than a Jalapeno
Heat: Very Hot
Did you know that Habaneros are jam-packed with Vitamin C? Gram for gram, Habanero’s have more Vitamin C than oranges! Just one chilli pepper has over 100% of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake with only 18 calories and zero grams of fat. They also have a high concentration of Potassium for their size. Even though you won’t get your total recommended Potassium intake with just a few chilli peppers, it still makes a healthy addition to any meal. They also contain a high concentration of capsaicin, this chemical is a phytonutrient that shows great promise to prevent and treat many diseases and it’s also a natural anti-inflammatory.
What’s the hottest chilli?
The ghost chilli peppers and caroline reaper chilli peppers are off-the-charts hot at 1 million and 2.2 million Scovilles respectively. If you fancy trying we have the caroline reaper in stock, not for the faint-hearted though!
Habaneros are deeply ingrained in Mexican culture. Yucatan, Mexico is now the largest producer of Habaneros in the world, exporting to the United States, Europe and Asia. Yucatan’s unique soil composition, climate, and unrelenting sun make it the perfect location to grow these spicy peppers.
In the 18th Century (1700’s) the Spanish were responsible for spreading these seeds all over the world with their network of trading, eventually reaching Europe, Africa and Asia.
How to use Chillies
Habaneros are a staple in almost every spicy lover’s diet. They have a multitude of uses including:
- Hot Sauce
- Salsa
- Chutney
- Marinades
- Chili Puree
- Chili Paste
- Powdered and mixed into dry rubs
- Jerk Recipes
- Chilli Oil
- Pickled
- Pepper Jam
- Stuffed Peppers
- Spicy salad dressing
- Spicy starters and main courses
- Spicy Desserts
Recipes
We’ve compiled some recipes on our Pinterest board for you to review and added our top 3 favourites more unusual recipes below.
Mango Habanero Margarita
25 Mins
Serves 2
Contains Alcohol
This is the perfect summer cocktail for a BBQ or party with friends, and with the added spice it makes it a cocktail to remember!
Recipe Source: Show me the yummy, find the recipe here
Tasty Cheesy Habanero Poppers
Under 30 Mins
Makes 24 poppers
If jalapenos have always been a little tame for you, it’s time you tried a new pepper in your popper. Habaneros stuffed with cheddar, cream cheese, and bacon bits have some serious kick to them.
Recipe Source: cd kitchen, find the recipe here
Habanero Chilli Jam
45 mins
Makes 2.5kg jam
This is not your ordinary sweet fruit jam! Habanero chillies have a sweet fruity taste plus and a pronounced spicy zing. Delicious spread sparingly on toast with cream cheese, or spooned over cooked meat, or fish, where it will melt in place of a sauce.
Recipe source: BBC Good Food, find the recipe here
