Difference between sweet pepperoncini peppers and banana peppers

 

Sweet Pepperoncini Peppers Vs Banana Peppers

 

This post contains all of the information on similarities and differences between the two that would make you a pro at discerning the differences between the two types of chili. Sweet pepperoncini peppers look similar, come from the same species of pepper (capsicum annuum), but are not the same.

 

While one does indeed look similar, and this is probably what is confusing, sweet pepperoncini peppers are a bit more green and a wrinkled in texture than banana peppers, which are a bright yellow and slicker exterior. When it comes to taste, one another are quite similar, although you might note a bit of bitterness with pepperoncini peppers that you will not get with banana peppers. Their differences in taste are most apparent when the peppers are raw--after pickling, they taste even more alike.

 

These bright yellow pickled peppers do more than just add some pizzazz to that particular meat-and-cheese sandwich, but are great on several other dishes. Not only do these peppers taste incredible with a variety of dishes, they are extremely healthy. Like any pickled food, pepperoncini are great at adding acidity, brightness, and some mild heat to any dish.

 

Known as Italian sweet peppers or Tuscan peppers, pepperoncini peppers are mild in flavor and heat, with only a slight bitterness. These mild peppers are a great flavor compromise if you are looking for something savory and acidic, but do not want to face the heat of pickled jalapeno peppers or anything hot. Shishito peppers are thin-walled, have a mild, slightly sweet flavor, and make for a delicious tempura topping as well.

 

Serrano peppers are similar to small, long-stemmed jalapeno peppers, which are good for the next step on the heat scale. Substitute serrano peppers in place of jalapeno peppers for salsas and guacamole when you are looking for more spicy flavors. Pickled banana peppers are usually chopped into rings and used as garnish, but if you can get hold of a raw banana pepper, stuff it as a jalapeno popper or fill with stuffed bell peppers.

 

You can also roast banana peppers for recipes, toast them in the oven, use them in salsa, and throw slices of banana peppers in for a few extra bites of freshness on pizza, salads, sandwiches, and more. You can leave them on the plant to ripen, they will turn an orange or reddish colour, but generally pick them when yellowish to yellow-green. You can still let Sweet Banana Peppers mature to red, but they will lose a bit of crispness and turn slightly sweeter.

 

Banana peppers are also known as yellow wax peppers, while Hungarian wax peppers are also known as spicy banana peppers, adding to the pepperoncini/Hungarian wax mix-up. Pepperoncini peppers and much hotter Hungarian wax peppers share a similar flavor profile, and are often confused at stores and restaurants.

 

Hungarian wax peppers are medium-hot peppers (5,000 to 10,000 SHU); thus, they are slightly more pungent than jalapeos. Banana peppers are so named due to their long, somewhat conical shape, which is like the fruit of the banana. Bell peppers are named because they have bell-like shapes, and they come in many colors (most often green, yellow, and red).

 

Bell peppers are mild, sweet-tasting, and available in green, red, yellow, orange, and occasionally purple and brown. Yellow peppers are best suited for fresh use, and red ones are best for pickling. A more common pepper that can be used in place of these is the smaller yellow sweet bell pepper, or a mild Italian sweet pepper.

 

To make things more confusing, one variety of pepper can be called one thing when fresh, but called something else when dried. If you plant lots of different varieties of peppers, you may know they will all turn a color when they are fully grown.

 

Many pepper varieties are traditionally picked just before they turn, including jalapenos, green bell peppers, serranos, shishitos, and several others. While fresh cayenne matures from green to red, is long, thin, curvy, and extremely hot, the variety is typically sold dried and ground.

 

Poblanos are low in heat, particularly when green and not fully mature, but a few poblanos (especially red ones that are fully ripe) are known for packing a surprisingly hot punch. Chile de arbol -- used in salsas, hot sauces, enchiladas, etc. The warmth of chili is often compared to that of jalapeno peppers: it is hotter than a jalapeno pepper, or it is less hot than jalapeno peppers.

 

Its taste is not extremely hot (0-500 Scoville units) and, like most peppers, its heat depends on how mature the pepper is, with mature ones sweeter than younger ones.

 

Compared with the jalapeno, which measures between 2500-8000 Scoville heat units (SHU), a hot banana pepper is actually 5 times milder than the mildest jalapeno. Other peppers that you may know within this range include Anaheim pepper, measuring between 500 and 1000 SHU, Cubanelle pepper, measuring between 0 and 1000 SHU, pepperoncini, measuring between 100 and 500 SHU, or cayenne pepper, measuring between 1,500 and 6,000 SHU. On the scale, peppers swing tremendously: Sweet bell peppers rank at zero, whereas hot varieties can rank above 1,000,000 Wilbur Scoville Units.

 

Mature fruits are a bit sweeter in taste than peppers, bells, and jalapeno. They are both mild peppers when compared to other hot types like jalapeno and second to third mildest below bell pepper. Despite not being considered hot anymore, Habanero peppers still pack a punch.

 

Surprisingly, the Carolina Reaper is quite flavorful and sweet for a super-hot pepper, so salsas made with the Carolina Reaper can taste good, as long as you are okay with eating something that looks like pepper spray. You can buy seeds on Amazon (affiliate link) or see this book on growing chili peppers at home in containers.