17 Shish*to Peppers Recipes + Produce Guide (2024)

FAQs

Why are only 1 in 10 shish*to peppers hot? ›

Why are only some shish*tos hot? The reason behind the variance in heat of many chili peppers from pepper to pepper is due to the amount of capsaicin produced during growing.

It's a warm weather plant, set out in late spring or early summer when soil and air temperatures reach averages of close to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Shish*to pepper matures quickly, with harvest beginning in about 65 days. Plants are prolific for producing up to 20 fruits each.

Store these peppers in a plastic bag in the fridge before rinsing. They can last up to two weeks in the crisper drawer. These peppers can also be frozen whole.

Leave those ribs and seeds alone! Shish*tos can be eaten whole, so all you have to do is cut off the stem—unless you serve them as finger food, where the stem can act as a nifty handle. Each pepper contains a lot of seeds (more than you might expect), but they're totally edible and don't need to be removed.

The name, "Shish*to", derives from the Japanese words "shishi", which means "lion", and "togarashi", which translated to "chili pepper". Hence, in Japan, it is known as the "Lion Head pepper".

Shish*to peppers will last up to two weeks (maybe longer) when kept dry and stored in the fridge. They're still good as long as they're firm and not mushy. Ripe shish*tos are bright green, but if you find a red or orange pepper in the bag, it's perfectly normal and fine to eat.

Easy to grow and a favorite of home cooks, shish*to peppers are a must-try for beginner vegetable gardeners. Milder than jalapeños but spicier than bell peppers, this Japanese pepper variety makes a great addition to a wide array of recipes.

Peppers of all types are grown as annuals by most gardeners: sown, grown, picked, then condemned to the compost heap at the end of the season. Yet these hard-working plants are perennials that, given the right conditions, will happily overwinter to next year.

How to Harvest Shish*to Peppers. Mature shish*to peppers are long and slender with thin, slightly wrinkled flesh. Most gardeners prefer to harvest their shish*to peppers when they're still green as soon as they're big enough to eat (about 2 to 4 inches long).

Cooking shish*to makes the flesh more tender and nuanced in flavor, but you can certainly eat them raw as well. There's no need to remove the seeds or inner membrane since they don't add any extra heat.

What happens when shish*to peppers turn red? ›

Younger peppers will have a greenish hue. As they mature, the color transitions to orange, and eventually will turn red. With Shish*to peppers, the color of the pepper has no impact on the spice level. As a rule of thumb, 1 in 10 Shish*to peppers has a kick of heat, no matter if it's green, orange, or yes, even red!

Keep shish*to peppers in a paper or plastic bag in the warmest area of the refrigerator. If purchased when fresh, they can last in your crisper drawer for up to 2 weeks. Have some fresh leftover shish*tos? Freeze them whole, and save for a little bit of summer during colder months.

Shish*to Peppers are a petit Pepper variety with a highly distinctive flavor profile. Every Pepper is light green in color, with some ripening further to acquire an orange tinge. With thinner walls and a slender form, Shish*to Peppers are best suited for appetizers, side dishes, or finger food platters.

You can serve shish*to peppers in stirfry dishes, alongside any grilled or smoked meats or really at any time as they are a fun little appetizer. Even a football party is so fun to serve up these blistered shish*tos!

Shish*to peppers score a measly 100 to 1,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), while jalapenos boast a more respectable range of 2,500-8,000 SHU. In other words, the spiciest jalapeno can be up to 80 times spicier than the mildest shish*to pepper.

What are shish*to peppers? Shish*tos are small, mild peppers from Japan. Their flavor is sweet and slightly smokey, not spicy—but careful! One in ten shish*to peppers will be hot.

Shish*to Peppers are unlike any other gourmet ingredient in the produce aisle: 1 in 10 have an enticing, lively warmth that gently commands your attention. While they are typically 50-200 Scovilles, they can jump up to the heat of a mild Jalepeño at 2,500 Scovilles.

The Carolina Reaper is officially the Worlds Hottest Pepper as ranked by Guinness Book of World Records. It's hot, and by hot, we mean HOT! The Carolina Reaper can top-out at 2.2 Million SHU!

Ripe (red) bell peppers are the least acrid and thus the true heritor of the least spiciest title. I find that pimento peppers are even milder than bell peppers. They are a bit sweeter too.