Primer on peppers
Chris, your Tomato Mountain Farmer, is personally obsessed with peppers and goes out of his way to find the best ones, so it’s no wonder that his peppers are out of this world. Whether you’re going for spice or you’re good with the sweets, we can assure you that these drops of bright and crispy goodness are sure to add maximum flavor to your dish. Not sure which ones to go for? See below.
green sandias
BIG, LONG & SMOKEY
SANDIAS
The quintessential pepper from Hatch, New Mexico. World famous peppers that are great for fire-roasting and New Mexican style chile sauce. Good heat, great flavor. Chris’s favorite. These are bigger peppers than you’d expect for so much heat - closer in size to a bell pepper than a jalapeño.
ANAHEIMS
Somewhere between a hot pepper and poblano and a sweet pepper, the Anaheims are big roasting peppers that sweeten up when you cook them, but keep a bit of spice, too. They have a uniquely smokey profile and are incredibly fragrant. Great in soups, curries, sauces, or just roasted on their own.
CAYENNES
Cayennes taste like a sweet red pepper with a strong bite. They have a bit of smokiness, a bit of sweetness - as you probably recognize from the ground cayenne pepper spice you have in your cupboard - these peppers are very versatile in that their flavor isn’t too opinionated, while still being very flavorful and adding a nice bite.
POBLANOS
Kind of like a ripe (green) pepper, but with a smokey, earthy, almost meaty bite. Great roasted, wonderful made into sauces and salsas. These have a bite but are nowhere near as spicy as the peppers above. They are wonderful roasted and you gotta try this corn chowder made w roasted poblanos - we skipped the cheese and subbed oat milk for the cream, used fresh corn, and it was so good.
a carmen and three glow peppers
BIG & SWEET
SUPER SWEETS
The super sweet peppers are a mix of Carmens (red), and glow (orange) peppers - we call them super sweet because they really are super sweet! The Carmens are Italian frying peppers, similar to a Hungarian pepper. The glows are like mini bells mixed with a sweeter pepper. Neither are really anything like a bell pepper, in that they don’t have that kind of bitter, vegetal quality, but they are at least as crispy and juicy.
SMALL, SWEET & SPICY
SHISHITOS
1 in 10 Shishitos is super hot. The rest are mild. These little guys are a little bit sweet, a little bit smokey, and they take on your favorite dipping sauce very well. We like ‘em just blistered on the grill with some soy sauce and a side of spicy rice vinegary mayo.
habañeros and a tiny serrano
HABANEROS
Habañeros, albeit very spicy, are actually also a very sweet pepper! If you don’t use too many, they add a very rounded, almost fruity spice to just about any dish.
SMALL, BRIGHT & SUPER SPICY
SERRANOS
Serranos are small but mighty in spice. The seeds are even spicier! They have a bright, clean spice and take on all sorts of dishes without being too opinionated beyond its heat.
JALAPENOS
Jalapeños are kind of like bell peppers or green (not yet ripened) peppers, but with a serious kick. Same seed warning from above applies. If you leave them to ripen a bit longer and they turn red, they’ll be a bit sweeter, but just as bright and spicy.
