Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Banana Peppers, More! Cherry Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Peppers Galore! Colorful, flavorful, and full of health-friendly properties, peppers in some form or another are the favorite spice all over the world and they are commonly used in all cuisines. This flavorful fruit is the subject of this month’s blog!
Yes, we called it a fruit! They are considered fruits because they fit the botanical classification. To fit that classification, the item in question must have at least one seed that could grow a new plant and they must grow from the flower of the plant. Peppers fulfill these requirements.
Peppers originate from the tropical areas of the Americas and are extremely important in those cultures. Traces of peppers have even been found in prehistoric remains in Peru and Mexico. The first pepper seeds were brought back to Spain in 1493. They were actually mistaken for black pepper, but they spread rapidly through Europe and then to the rest of the world.
Pepper plants are perennials, but outside of their native habitat, they grow as summer annuals. You put the seeds directly into the soil and several weeks later, you have peppers. There is obviously a whole lot more to it than that, but we make pizzas, we are not horticulturalists.
What we are interested in is the flavors these peppers provide us with. At Ultimate California Pizza we rely on several different peppers to help us bring the flavors we enjoy to the pizzas we love to make for you. We use Green and Red Peppers, Cherry Peppers, Banana Peppers, and Jalapeno Peppers.
You can find these peppers on pizzas like The Big Kahuna, San Francisco, Berkeley, The Lite Works, Little Italy, Thai Chicken, San Diego, The Pipeline, and Mexicali.
But what do they taste like? Let’s go in order of spicy level.
1. Green Peppers & Red Peppers – The bell pepper comes in many colors including orange, yellow, white, and purple, but you will only find red and green at UCP. Boasting a 0 on the Scoville scale, bell peppers are sweet peppers that have a grassier taste with thick flesh that are both crunchy and juicy. They are often eaten, raw, sautéed, roasted, or stuffed.
2. Banana Peppers – a medium-sized pepper that has a mild, tangy taste and is typically bright yellow. On the low end of the Scoville scale, banana peppers feature a 500 SHU and are prepared just like bell peppers but have a different flavor. To call these peppers spicy, would be a stretch. Instead, they are mildly spicy, sweet, and tangy.
3. Cherry Peppers – Named for their close resemblance to cherries, these mild to moderately hot peppers are small, round, and red, but they boast a tiny hint of sweetness with heat that can be similar to jalapenos. Featuring 2500 to 5000 on the Scoville scale, these peppers are crisp with a sweet, watery flesh before the spice from the inside gets to you. Cherry Peppers are most often used as a condiment, as part of an antipasto platter, or can be stuffed. They are commonly confused with pimentos.
4. Jalapeno Peppers – The spiciest pepper on our menu, Jalapeno Peppers are medium-sized chile peppers with a range of pungency, but they typically fall somewhere between 4000 to 8500 on the Scoville scale. These peppers taste very much like Serrano peppers, just with slightly less heat. They are rich, slightly smoky, and earthy with good heat.
Combining these ingredients allows us to generate new flavor profiles and play with levels of sweet and spicy all on the same pizza all while adding some beautiful colors to the top of the pie!
Did you know that Ultimate California Pizza is part of the Divine Dining Group family of restaurants? If you love UCP you are going to love our sister establishments! Check out all the Divine Dining Group has to offer here.
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