Jalapeño peppers are a medium-sized chili pepper variety of the Capsicum annuum, which is about 2 to 4 inches long, with firm, smooth skin. They are usually picked while still green, but turn red, orange and yellow if fully ripe. They are relatively mild, typically delivering between 4000 and 8000 Scoville heat units. Jalapenos are used both raw and cooked, and are also common stuffed, fried, and pickled.
Word origins
Originally, Jalapeño chiles were called chiles curásemos. Hoyer (2005) recounts that an entrepreneur from Jalapa (Xalapa), Veracruz, started to pack pickled chiles at his factory sometime in the 1930s or 1940s, and distributed them all around Mexico. The cans were labeled "Chiles de Jalapa," and eventually the chiles became known as Jalapeños.
