Milder subs for jalapeños, Serrano peppers

[JustJoel]

I love spicy. Thai, Korean, Mexican, Cajun/creole, Italian, you name it. But as I get older, my tolerance for spicy is deteriorating. Mark can’t tolerate it either, even though he used to like it.

What kind of peppers or pepper sauce would be a good, milder sub for peppers like jalapeño and Serrano? Bell peppers, of course, but I’d like something with a little heat. I was thinking that shishitos might be good. Any other suggestions?

[taxlady]

My first thought is to substitute bell pepper for some of the jalapeño. I'm not familiar with shishitos.

I just searched for "peppers by Scoville rating and found two sites that look helpful:

https://www.pepperscale.com/hot-pepper-list/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/hot-ch...-scale-1807552

For the second one, you have to page down a bit for the big list.

[Kayelle]

Joel, do you carefully seed and remove every vein from your jalapeño and Serrano peppers? I'm a stickler about removing every single seed and vein. A serrated spoon and plastic gloves are helpful. The flavor is there without much heat. SC can't handle heat very well, and if I do that he's OK.

[GotGarlic]

This page lists the mildest chile peppers. As Kayelle said, remove as much of the seeds and membranes as possible to reduce the heat.

https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/c...chili-peppers/

[pepperhead212]

Joel, do you ever grow your own peppers? There are many jalapeño varieties out there in which the heat is low or totally gone - TAM is a mild variety, and Felicity and Fooled You have no heat! I grew fooled you for a lady I knew years ago, and it had a great jalapeño flavor, despite having no heat! And a variety called flaming flare, despite the name, was under 1,000 SUs, and had a great chili flavor. And if you enjoy that habanero flavor, Aji Dulce is a true habanero, but only has about 500 SUs, if that. I grew that last season because a friend of mine has also gotten sort of sensitive to the heat, so I'd use 1 part chocolate hab to 2 parts Aji Dulce, and it brought the heat down enough for him.

Here's a source to buy plants, if you do grow, but don't start from seeds:
Best Pepper Plants, Tomato Plants & Eggplants - ChilePlants.com
They have a great catalog, which tells you the level of heat of all of the varieties-sweet, mild, medium, hot, very hot, extra hot, and super hot.

[JustJoel]

Originally Posted by pepperhead212

Joel, do you ever grow your own peppers? There are many jalapeño varieties out there in which the heat is low or totally gone - TAM is a mild variety, and Felicity and Fooled You have no heat! I grew fooled you for a lady I knew years ago, and it had a great jalapeño flavor, despite having no heat! And a variety called flaming flare, despite the name, was under 1,000 SUs, and had a great chili flavor. And if you enjoy that habanero flavor, Aji Dulce is a true habanero, but only has about 500 SUs, if that. I grew that last season because a friend of mine has also gotten sort of sensitive to the heat, so I'd use 1 part chocolate hab to 2 parts Aji Dulce, and it brought the heat down enough for him.

Here's a source to buy plants, if you do grow, but don't start from seeds:
Best Pepper Plants, Tomato Plants & Eggplants - ChilePlants.com
They have a great catalog, which tells you the level of heat of all of the varieties-sweet, mild, medium, hot, very hot, extra hot, and super hot.

I’m afraid that I live in an apartment. We do have a concrete patio, and I suppose I could grow peppers in flower boxes or the like. I’m not sure if they’d do well in the desert though, and if they did grow, they’d be shredded by my two pups! And I’ve got what they call a “black thumb.” I’ve never had much success growing things.

[JustJoel]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

This page lists the mildest chile peppers. As Kayelle said, remove as much of the seeds and membranes as possible to reduce the heat.

https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/c...chili-peppers/

Good grief, that’s a long list. I wonder if they’d have some of those in the Mexican supermarket. Smith’s is very limited in the types of peppers they stock. Thanks for the link!

[JustJoel]

Originally Posted by Kayelle

Joel, do you carefully seed and remove every vein from your jalapeño and Serrano peppers? I'm a stickler about removing every single seed and vein. A serrated spoon and plastic gloves are helpful. The flavor is there without much heat. SC can't handle heat very well, and if I do that he's OK.

Yes indeed, always very very careful to remove the seeds and the ribs! Thanks!

[Whiskadoodle]

Try these--

Peppadew. Small round, bright red. They are described as "piquant" rather than hot or spicy. Not sure how to cook with them, I found them at the olive bar section at my store. Also in jars. I usually only want a dozen or so. Stuff them with softened cream cheese or blue cheese. I think they would be good in a martini, but I can't do that anymore. Otherwise a one bite wonder.

Pepperoncini. Another good pickled pepper. I have seen them served inside Italian beef sandwiches and in salads.

Pickled banana pepper slices. They come Hot or Mild. You choose. Good on pizza and more.

--
My new favorite salsa. Valentina. Comes original / mild or hot. Not as thick as catsup, thicker than tabasco. Smooth. Pour, drizzle or by drops on tacos. Highly recommended.

Herdez chunky salsa. The mild is very mild and you can spoon it into whatever you were going to chop fresh peppers for.

[Dawgluver]

I grow Anaheims. A bit spicy, but they won't blow your head off. Good when green or red.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

I grow Anaheims. A bit spicy, but they won't blow your head off. Good when green or red.

Me too and I love them. Not sure how available they are in stores.

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

Me too and I love them. Not sure how available they are in stores.

I've actually seen them at some of the grocery stores here, and at the farmers' market. Summer/fall only though.

[pepperhead212]

Anaheims are good - they are the type of peppers they sell in the cans, roasted and peeled. That's what I do with them (the Big Jim) - char them over open flame, scrape it off, cut the flesh into strips, and freeze them. They freeze well. Beware, however - Anaheims can be hot, as there are different varieties out there. As with jalapeños, you rarely know what you are getting in the stores. Maybe if you see some, buy a sample, do a taste test, and buy a bunch more, if you like them!

[CraigC]

Any chili pepper can be mild or hot, but I've found poblanos to consistently be on the mild side. They are the fresh version of the ancho.

[RPCookin]

Originally Posted by JustJoel

I love spicy. Thai, Korean, Mexican, Cajun/creole, Italian, you name it. But as I get older, my tolerance for spicy is deteriorating. Mark can’t tolerate it either, even though he used to like it.

What kind of peppers or pepper sauce would be a good, milder sub for peppers like jalapeño and Serrano? Bell peppers, of course, but I’d like something with a little heat. I was thinking that shishitos might be good. Any other suggestions?

Use the jalapenos, then just core and see them first. The green part of the jalapenos that I get in the grocery store is never very spicy. At least 90% of the heat is in the soft ribs of the core, and the more of that you remove, the milder they become. I often make scrambled eggs with one pepper per serving, cored and small diced. Just adds a slight kick, barely noticeable unless I deliberately leave some of the capsaicin laced ribs when I core it.

[Kayelle]

Yes, I agree 100% Rick.

Originally Posted by Kayelle

Joel, do you carefully seed and remove every vein from your jalapeño and Serrano peppers? I'm a stickler about removing every single seed and vein. A serrated spoon and plastic gloves are helpful. The flavor is there without much heat. SC can't handle heat very well, and if I do that he's OK.

[taxlady]

Maybe it depends on where you get your jalapenos. I live in a suburb. If I buy jalapenos at a supermarket, they tend towards wimpy heat. If I buy them at an ethnic market, they have a proper amount of heat.

[Vinylhanger]

We did an experiment this Christmas.

I soaked half the jalapenos in water for two hours or so and then the other half in lemon lime soda for same time.

The lemon lime soda ones lost nearly all the heat. The family said no thanks. Just wasnt the same.

The water ones lost some heat.

So maybe somewhere in the middle, or less time.

The problem with the ones we get is the inconsistency. I can get 5 to 7 pounds and have perfectly balanced heat to taste ones and then the next one will be so hot no one wants to eat them. Including the large percent of Hispanics and/or pepper heads in the family, myself included.

[JustJoel]

Originally Posted by Vinylhanger

We did an experiment this Christmas.

I soaked half the jalapenos in water for two hours or so and then the other half in lemon lime soda for same time.

The lemon lime soda ones lost nearly all the heat. The family said no thanks. Just wasnt the same.

The water ones lost some heat.

So maybe somewhere in the middle, or less time.

The problem with the ones we get is the inconsistency. I can get 5 to 7 pounds and have perfectly balanced heat to taste ones and then the next one will be so hot no one wants to eat them. Including the large percent of Hispanics and/or pepper heads in the family, myself included.

I used to order grilled shishitos at the little yakitori restaurant I frequented in Japan. They came five to a skewer, and you could never be sure about their heat. Two would be scorching, the other three would be mild and almost sweet!

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by pepperhead212

Joel, do you ever grow your own peppers? There are many jalapeño varieties out there in which the heat is low or totally gone - TAM is a mild variety, and Felicity and Fooled You have no heat! I grew fooled you for a lady I knew years ago, and it had a great jalapeño flavor, despite having no heat! And a variety called flaming flare, despite the name, was under 1,000 SUs, and had a great chili flavor. And if you enjoy that habanero flavor, Aji Dulce is a true habanero, but only has about 500 SUs, if that. I grew that last season because a friend of mine has also gotten sort of sensitive to the heat, so I'd use 1 part chocolate hab to 2 parts Aji Dulce, and it brought the heat down enough for him.

Here's a source to buy plants, if you do grow, but don't start from seeds:
Best Pepper Plants, Tomato Plants & Eggplants - ChilePlants.com
They have a great catalog, which tells you the level of heat of all of the varieties-sweet, mild, medium, hot, very hot, extra hot, and super hot.

TAM jalapeños are somewhat milder. Developed here at Texas A&M (TAM). I grew them one summer. As usual, they were really mild in the spring, and quite a bit hotter by August/September. That variety may work for you, but you will have to grow your own.

And yes, bell peppers are no replacement for a hot chili.

Definitely remove all traces of that whitish membrane from your chilis, and the top of the chili, near the stem, will often be hotter, because that is where the core of the placenta is/was. That is the part that is packed with membrane and seeds.

I have grown some banana peppers in past years that had mild heat to them.

The poblanos I have grown have been milder than jalepeños, but by end of summer, they were pretty hot.

I have never grown Anaheim chilis, but have heard they are mild.

CD