Jalapeño Pepper
Jalapeños are medium-heat Mexican chiles with a bright, grassy flavor, among the most widely used fresh chiles in both Mexican and American cooking.
How to buy
Look for peppers that are firm, glossy, and uniformly green (or red when fully ripe and sweeter), with no soft spots or wrinkling. Faint white lines or scarring, called 'corking,' on the skin are a good sign -- it often means a hotter pepper.
How to store
Keep fresh jalapeños in a perforated bag in the crisper drawer, where they'll last 1-2 weeks. They pickle and freeze well, and sliced pickled jalapeños kept in the fridge last for months.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Bright, grassy, and moderately hot, generally around 2,500-8,000 Scoville heat units -- noticeably milder than a serrano. Red, fully ripened jalapeños are sweeter and slightly less sharp than green ones. Roasting or smoking (to make chipotle) deepens the flavor considerably.
- Texture
- Crisp and firm raw with moderately thick walls, which hold their shape well whether sliced raw, pickled, or stuffed and baked.
- Aroma
- A bright, grassy, faintly vegetal smell with a noticeable sharp edge when cut.
How to prepare
- Sliced raw — Cut into rings for topping nachos, tacos, and sandwiches.
- Pickled (en escabeche) — Simmered briefly in vinegar with carrot and onion for a tangy, shelf-stable condiment.
- Stuffed and baked — Halved, filled with cheese, and baked or fried as poppers.
- Candied — Simmered in a sugar-vinegar syrup until sweet, hot, and slightly chewy.
- Charred/roasted — Blistered over flame or under a broiler to mellow the heat and add smokiness.
Classic dishes
American
- Jalapeño poppers — Halved jalapeños stuffed with cheese, breaded, and fried or baked until golden.
- Nachos — Tortilla chips loaded with cheese and often topped with pickled jalapeño slices.
- Jalapeño cornbread — Cornbread studded with diced fresh jalapeño for a sweet-spicy contrast.
- Candied jalapeños — Sliced jalapeños simmered in sugar and vinegar into a sweet-hot condiment, sometimes called cowboy candy.
- Jalapeño cheddar sausage — Smoked sausage studded with cheese and diced jalapeño.
- Pepper jack-topped burgers — Burgers topped with jalapeño-studded pepper jack cheese and fresh jalapeño slices.
Mexican
- Chiles jalapeños en escabeche — Pickled jalapeños with carrot and onion, a staple condiment on Mexican tables.
- Pico de gallo — A fresh chopped salsa of tomato, onion, and cilantro, brightened with minced jalapeño.
- Salsa roja — A cooked red salsa often built with roasted jalapeño and tomato.
- Guacamole — Mashed avocado seasoned with lime, cilantro, and minced jalapeño for a mild kick.
- Elote — Grilled corn on the cob dressed with crema, cheese, and often a dusting of chile including jalapeño.
- Queso dip — A melted cheese dip, often studded with diced jalapeño for heat.
- Jalapeño margarita — A spicy cocktail variation infusing tequila or the shaken drink with fresh jalapeño.
- Carne asada with jalapeño salsa — Grilled marinated beef served alongside a fresh, jalapeño-spiked table salsa.
- Chile relleno — A stuffed, battered, and fried chile, sometimes made with jalapeño instead of poblano.
- Torta with pickled jalapeño — A Mexican sandwich commonly topped with pickled jalapeño for acidity and heat.
Substitutions
- Serrano Pepper — Noticeably hotter; use about half as much to match a jalapeño's milder heat.