Habanero: Difference between revisions

|scoville = 100,000–350000 – 350,000

The '''habanero''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|(|h|)|ɑː|b|ə|ˈ|n|ɛər|oʊ}}; {{IPA-|es|aβaˈneɾo|lang|HabaneroPronunciation.ogg}}) is a [[Pungency|hot]] variety of [[chili pepper|chili]]. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://evergreenorganicsbelize.com/gallery/chili/|title=Chili – Evergreen Organics|publisher=EvergreenOrganicsBelize.com|access-date=2016-12-01|archive-date=2 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202040054/http://evergreenorganicsbelize.com/gallery/chili/}}</ref> Typically, a ripe habanero is {{convert|2|-|6|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=off}} long. Habanero chilis are very [[Pungency |hot]], rated 100,000–350,000 on the [[Scoville scale]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blhotchiles.htm |title=Chile Pepper Heat Scoville Scale |publisher=Homecooking.about.com |access-date=2013-04-14}}</ref> The habanero's heat, flavor, and floral aroma make it a popularcommon ingredient in [[Hot sauce|hot sauces]] and other spicy foods.

The habanero is named after the Cuban city of ''La Habana'', known in English as [[Havana]], because it used to feature heavily in trading there. (Despite the name, habaneros and other spicy-hot ingredients are rarely ever used in traditional Cuban cooking.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cubanews.de/en/cuba-and-food-an-intense-history/ |title=Cuba and Food – An Intense History |date=July 2020 |access-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://medium.com/panel-frame/cuban-food-isnt-spicy-bf7a671b4f11 |title=Cuban Food Isn't Spicy |date=17 June 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref> In English, it is sometimes incorrectly spelled ''habañero'' and pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|(|h|)|ɑː|b|ə|ˈ|n|j|ɛər|oʊ}}, the [[tilde]] being added as a [[hyperforeignism]] patterned after [[jalapeño]].<ref name="dictionary">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habanero |title=Habanero |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=2013-10-26}}</ref>

[[File:ExpoIndigenous2015 065.JPG|thumbnail|Habanero hot sauce from ''Flor de Lirio'', an [[Indigenous peoples of Mexico|Indigenous]] [[agricultural cooperative|cooperative]] in [[Peto Municipality]], Yucatán]]

The habanero chili comes from the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]], from which it was spread, reaching [[Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conacyt.mx/comunicacion/revista/195/Articulos/Chilehabanero/Habanero01.html#a |title=El chile habanero de Yucatán. Origen y dispersión prehispánica del chile habanero |work=Ciencia y Desarrollo |date=May 2006 |access-date=2015-01-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212225214/http://www.conacyt.mx/comunicacion/revista/195/Articulos/Chilehabanero/Habanero01.html#a |archive-date=February 12, 2012 }}</ref> Today, the largest producer of the habanero pepper is the [[Yucatán Peninsula]], in Mexico.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melindas.com/press/press1.html |title=Profile of the Habanero Pepper |work=Whole Chile Pepper Magazine |date=July 1989 |access-date=2013-04-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906065521/http://www.melindas.com/press/press1.html |archive-date=2012-09-06 }}</ref> Habaneros are an integral part of Yucatecan food, accompanying most dishes, either in natural form or purée or salsa.<ref name=WorldCrops>{{cite web|title=Habanero|url=https://worldcrops.org/crops/habanero|publisher=WorldCrops.org|access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref> Other modern producers include [[Belize]], [[Panama]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], and parts of the United States, including [[Texas]], [[Idaho]], and [[California]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

The habanero chili was disseminated by Spanish colonists to other areas of the world, to the point that 18th-century [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomists]] mistook [[China]] for its place of origin and called it ''[[Capsicum chinense]]'' ("the Chinese pepper").<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-479.html |last=Bosland |first=P.W. |year=1996 |title=Capsicums: Innovative Uses of an Ancient Crop |pages=479–487 |editor=J. Janick |journal=Progress in New Crops |publisher=ASHS Press |location=Arlington, Virginia |access-date=2013-04-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://scovillescaleforpeppers.com/history-chile-pepper/ |author=Bosland, P.W.|title=The History of the Chile Pepper |publisher=Brooklyn Botanic Garden |access-date=2014-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524022915/http://scovillescaleforpeppers.com/history-chile-pepper/ |archive-date=May 24, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Eshbaugh |first=W. Hardy |year=1993 |chapter=Peppers: History and Exploitation of a Serendipitous New Crop Discovery |page=132–139 |editor-first=Jules |editor-last=Janick |editor-first2=James E. |editor-last2=Simon |title=New Crops |location=New York |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780471593744978-0-471-59374-4 |chapter-url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-132.html |via=purdue.edu }}</ref>

The [[Scotch bonnet]] is often compared to the habanero, since they are two varieties of the same species, but they have different [[pod (fruit)|pod types]].<ref name=WorldCrops /> Both the Scotch bonnet and the habanero have thin, waxy flesh. They have a similar heat level and flavor. Both varieties average around the same level of pungency, but the actual degree varies greatly from one fruit to another according to genetics, growing methods, climate, and plant stress.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

In 1999, the habanero was listed by ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the world's hottest chili{{cn|date=October 2023}}, but it has since been displaced by other peppers. The heat of the habanero does not immediately take effect, but sets in over a period of a few minutes and lasts up to an hour in the mouth. The heat can sometimes be felt in the esophagus some hours after consumption. The ''[[Bhut jolokia]]'' (or ghost pepper) and [[Trinidad moruga scorpion]] havehas since been identified as a native ''[[Capsicum chinense]]'' subspecies even hotter than the habanero. Breeders constantly crossbreed subspecies to attempt to create [[cultivar]]s that will break the record on the [[Scoville scale]]. One example is the [[Carolina Reaper]], supposedly a cross between a ''[[Bhutbhut jolokia]]'' pepper with a particularly pungent red habanero.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Habaneros thrive in hot weather. Like all peppers, the habanero does well in an area with good morning sun and in soil with a [[pH]] level around 5 to 6 (slightly acidic). Habaneros which are watered daily produce more vegetative growth but the same number of fruit, with lower concentrations of [[capsaicin]], as compared to plants which are watered only when dry (every seven days).<ref name=Ruiz>{{cite journal|last1=Ruiz-Lau|first1=Nancy|last2=Medina-Lara|first2=Fátima|last3=Minero-García|first3=Yereni|last4=Zamudio-Moreno|first4=Enid|last5=Guzmán-Antonio|first5=Adolfo|last6=Echevarría-Machado|first6=Ileana|last7=Martínez-Estévez|first7=Manuel|title=Water Deficit Affects the Accumulation of Capsaicinoids in Fruits of ''Capsicum chinense'' Jacq.|url=https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/46/3/article-p487.xml|journal=HortScience|access-date=17 August 2017|pages=487–492|language=en|date=1 March 2011|volume=46|issue=3|doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.46.3.487|doi-access=free}}</ref> Overly moist soil and roots will produce bitter-tasting peppers. Daily watering during flowering and early setting of fruit helps prevent flower and immature fruit from dropping, but flower dropping rates often reach 90% even in ideal conditions.<ref name=Ruiz />

The habanero is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[flowering plant]], meaning that with proper care and growing conditions, it can produce flowers (and thus fruit) for many years. Habanero bushes are good candidates for a [[container garden]]. In temperate climates, though, it is treated as an [[Annual plant|annual]], dying each winter and being replaced the next spring. In tropical and subtropical regions, the habanero, like other chiles, will produce year round. As long as conditions are favorable, the plant will set fruit continuously.{{Citation needed|date=July 20212022}}

Several growers have attempted to [[selective breeding|selectively breed]] habanero plants to produce hotter, heavier, and larger peppers. Most habaneros rate between 200,000 and 300,000 on the [[Scoville scale]]. In 2004, researchers in Texas created a mild version of the habanero, but retained the traditional aroma and flavor. The milder version was obtained by crossing the [[Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán]] habanero pepper with a heatless habanero from [[Bolivia]] over several generations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Santa Ana |first=Rod, III |url=https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2004/08/12/texas-plant-breeder-develops-mild-habanero-pepper/ |title=Texas Plant Breeder Develops Mild Habanero Pepper |work=AgNews |date=12 August 2004 |access-date=18 March 2020 }}</ref> Breeder [[Michael Mazourek]] used a mutation discovered by the [[Chile Pepper Institute]] to create a heatless version labeled the 'Habanada' bred in 2007 and released in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Page-Mann|first1=Petra|title=Habanada: The Unmasked Habanero|url=http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2015/04/06/habanada/|website=Cornell Small Farms Program|access-date=9 March 2018|date=6 April 2015}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news|last1=Danovich|first1=Tove|title=This Heatless Habanero Packs All Of The Flavor With None Of The Burn|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/13/514106139/this-heatless-habanero-packs-all-of-the-flavor-with-none-of-the-burn|access-date=9 March 2018|work=NPR.org|agency=NPR|date=12 Feb 2017|language=en}}</ref>

Black habanero is an alternative name often used to describe the dark brown variety of habanero chilis, which are slightly smaller and more spherical. Some seeds have been found which are thought to be over 7,000 years old. The black habanero has an exotic and unusual taste, and is hotter than a regular habanero with a rating between 425,000 and 577,000 Scoville units.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pepperscale.com/chocolate-habanero/|title=Chocolate Habanero: Smoky Sweet Heat|date=18 January 2014}}</ref> Small slivers used in cooking can have a dramatic effect on the overall dish.<!-- Gourmets delight in its fiery heat and unusual flavor.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} --> Black habaneros take considerably longer to grow than other habanero chili varieties. In a dried form, they can be preserved for long periods of time, and can be reconstituted in water then added to sauce mixes. Previously known as ''habanero negro'', or by their [[Nahuatl]] name, their name was translated into English by spice traders in the 19th century as "black habanero". The word "chocolate" was derived from the Nahuatl word, ''[[Aztec cuisine|xocolātl]]'' {{IPA-nah|ʃoˈkolaːt͡ɬ|}}, and was used in the description, as well (as "chocolate habanero"), but it proved to be unpronounceable to the British traders, so it was simply named "black habanero".<ref name="Black Habanero">{{cite web|title=Black Habanero|url=http://www.estherschilemarket.com/habanero-peppers-or-habanero-chile-peppers/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190503/http://www.estherschilemarket.com/habanero-peppers-or-habanero-chile-peppers/|archive-date=2013-10-29}}</ref>

File:Image-bee71dcf576c102431b196f41ffb6b0827489cea82e9636921ee268f47925e22-V.jpg|Red Habanerohabanero Chilischiles growing on the plant

File:Habaneros drying for further preservation.jpg|Habaneros sun -drying

* ''[[Capsicum]]'' (pepper family)