Habanero vs jalapeno

In the habanero vs jalapeno matchup, heat is the headline. Penn State Extension's guide to preserving hot peppers gives jalapeno Scoville ratings of 2,500 to 8,000 SHU and habanero Scoville ratings of 100,000 to 350,000 SHU. Rutgers Cooperative Extension's habanero fact sheet uses a range of 150,000 to 350,000 and calls the habanero up to 50 times hotter than a jalapeno.

Ranges are wide because the same pepper varies. Wikipedia's habanero article notes research in which habaneros watered daily had lower capsaicin concentrations than plants watered only when dry, and that researchers in Texas bred a mild habanero in 2004 that kept the traditional aroma and flavor.

How hot is a habanero? Very hot for a pepper you can buy fresh, but nowhere near the hottest chiles. The Scoville scale ranks peppers by their capsaicinoids, the compounds behind the burn, and capsaicin is the main one.

For how heat is measured, Wikipedia explains that pharmacist Wilbur Scoville's 1912 test dissolved dried pepper in alcohol, diluted the extract in sugar water and gave it to a panel of five tasters until most could no longer detect heat. The rating is based on that dilution. Since the 1980s, labs have also used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure capsaicinoid content directly and convert it to Scoville units.

Higher on the scale sit relatives of the habanero. Wikipedia notes the Scotch bonnet is a variety of the same species with a similar heat level, and that the Trinidad moruga scorpion, another Capsicum chinense, is even hotter. As Penn State puts it, the higher the Scoville rating, the hotter the pepper.

Heat is not the only difference. Rutgers says habanero fruits have a distinctive fruity aroma often described as apricot or citrus-like, and Wikipedia credits the habanero's heat, flavor and floral aroma for its place in hot sauces.

Grassy is the word many cooks use for a green jalapeno, meaning a fresh, green-vegetable taste closer to a green bell pepper than to fruit. Wikipedia notes jalapenos are commonly picked and eaten while still green, and are only occasionally left to ripen to red, orange or yellow. Ripe red jalapenos are used to make sriracha sauce.

Jalapenos also have a second life as chipotles. Wikipedia notes that Aztec markets sold chipotles, which are smoked jalapenos, before the Spanish conquest. Smoking trades the green taste for a deep, smoky one.

In a bottle, each pepper pulls in different partners. Habanero hot sauce often leans on fruit or sweet vegetables to round out the burn, because the pepper already tastes fruity. Jalapeno hot sauce tends to stay green and tangy, with vinegar, herbs or tomatillo.

Goodlands Food Co. of New Jersey, founded by Anna Dausman, shows both approaches. Its carrot habanero hot sauce, Goodlands' carrot habanero ($12.00, 5 oz), uses a sweet carrot base that, in the maker's words, rounds out the bold heat of the habanero. Goodlands suggests it for scrambled eggs, black bean bowls and burgers, or as a base for buffalo sauce.

For an orange habanero hot sauce, the Goodlands orange habanero hot sauce ($12.00, 5 oz) is a Goodlands Food Co. bottle that LocalCart files under Caulfield Provision Company's storefront. Its page calls it a medium-hot, citrusy sauce for eggs, grilled food, marinades, salads and dips. Goodlands also makes a pink Rhubarb Habanero ($12.00) that it calls fresh, fruity and super tangy.

On the jalapeno side, the Goodlands jalapeno dill pickle sauce ($12.00, 5 oz) is an homage to the dill pickle, blending jalapeno with fresh dill, garlic, toasted coriander and black pepper. The maker suggests it on breakfast sandwiches, falafel, potato salad and hot dogs, or in a Bloody Mary.

Most local grocery stores stock a jalapeno sauce and a habanero sauce from the big national brands. Small-batch makers are where you find the stranger pairings, like mint or mustard, and an ingredient list you can read in one breath.

Caulfield Provision Company in Potomac, MD, is a woman-owned, family-operated maker with a sauce for each pepper. Caulfield's jalapeno tomatillo sauce, sold as Minty Jalapeno Tomatillo ($6.50, 6 oz), lists jalapeno peppers first, followed by tomatillos, lemon juice, garlic, mint and basil, and the maker suggests it for scrambled eggs, tacos, poultry and lamb. Its Fiery Habanero Mustard Sauce ($5.99, 6 oz) pairs habanero with carrots, honey and mustard powder.

Caulfield also makes a Smoky Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce ($6.50) with red jalapenos and chipotle powder, which covers the ripe and smoked sides of the jalapeno in one bottle. Each maker on LocalCart ships its own order, so a cart with Goodlands and Caulfield bottles shows two shipping charges at checkout, calculated for your address.

The ingredient list also tells you how much pepper is in the bottle, since ingredients are listed by weight from most to least. Jalapeno peppers come first on the Minty Jalapeno Tomatillo label, so the pepper leads. On the Fiery Habanero Mustard label, carrots come first and habanero chillies sixth, after garlic, water, onion and vinegar, so the heat is spread through a sweeter base. LocalCart's pages give no Scoville ratings for any sauce, so the label and a drop on your tongue are the best guides.