Jalapeño, no zing.

Picture this: jalapeños, once the fiery rebels of the produce aisle, are now the docile lapdogs of the pepper world. Big, glossy, and utterly disappointing in the heat department. Blame it on a vast industrial plot, or just the relentless march of consumer convenience. Either way, the jalapeño has been tamed, and it's no accident.

Months of buying jalapeños that barely whispered "spice" had me texting every chef I knew. The consensus? Jalapeños are now more "meh" than "wow" because salsa just doesn't sting anymore.

Enter Stephanie Walker from New Mexico State University, a woman with a bone to pick with the whole chile pepper industry. As she laid it out, it wasn't just Mother Nature or the whims of weather. No, this was a deliberate dumbing down of the jalapeño’s heat, engineered by the bigwigs to suit the needs of mass production.

Most jalapeños end up in factories, transformed into salsas, sauces, and snacks. Consistency is key, and the unpredictable heat of the traditional jalapeño was a problem. The solution? TAM II—a bland, bloated version of its former self, courtesy of Texas A&M. The Aggies took the jalapeño, stripped it of its fire, and created a pepper that was all shine and no bite.

For those still in search of heat, Walker suggests heirloom varieties like Mitla and Early jalapeños. These old-school peppers pack a punch, much like the heirloom tomatoes that revived our love for true tomato flavor. The challenge is getting them. You’ll need to pester your grocer or supplier, and good luck with that.

Read the full article [here]