Cherry peppers are small, round, red peppers which have a mild to moderate heat level. They are normally pickled and can be added to salads or as a condiment, or as part of an antipasto plate.
They can also be stuffed and made into popper snacks. Cherry peppers are spicy in taste and can vary in heat intensity depending on the type of cherry pepper.
How Hot Are Cherry Peppers?
Cherry peppers tend to range between 2,500 to 5,000 SHU on the Scoville scale, meaning they are a little less hot than jalapeños.
So, while cherry peppers have a good kick, they won’t set your taste buds on fire as much as a Carolina Reaper might (which boasts a mouth-blazing 1,569,300 SHU on the Scoville scale. For context, that’s 100 times hotter than a jalapeno.
What Do Cherry Peppers Taste Like?
Cherry peppers vary depending on type, some may be more sweet in taste while some will have more of a spicy kick.
They have firm skin which means they are easy to pickle. They look quite similar to pimentos (which also have a lot of the same uses as cherry peppers) but are much more spicy and sweet in taste and have a spherical shape.
The cherry pepper is crisp and has a firm, sweet flesh. They are pretty juicy with a tough skin to add a bit of crunch, especially when pickled.
What Are The Different Types Of Cherry Peppers?
Different types of cherry pepper can differ in both heat and taste. An example of a sweeter cherry pepper is Cherry Pick. Besler’s Cherry has a slight kick to it but doesn’t compromise on the sweet taste, whereas Cherry Bomb is a great choice of cherry pepper for heat enthusiasts because it’s the spiciest cherry pepper you can get.
What Are Some Good Ways To Use Cherry Peppers?
Cherry peppers are great to use as a condiment, due to the ability to pickle them easily and the way their sweet and spicy taste compliments salads, sandwiches, cheese boards and antipasto platters.
They can be mixed in with pastas and omelettes, thrown into a Bolognese or other meat-based dish such as burgers or meatballs. They can add a good kick and inject flavor into many dishes, but probably aren’t too nice to eat just on their own.
They can help to bring down the richness of fatty meals and add a varied taste to lots of ingredients. You can find lots of recipes which utilise the cherry pepper online or in certain recipe books.
Where Can You Find Cherry Peppers?
Cherry peppers don’t tend to show themselves in generic supermarkets, but lots of specialist grocers will have pickled cherry peppers in jars. Cherry peppers can also be located in the salad bars at large stores and restaurants.
Visiting your local farmer’s market during summer is the best way to find decent cherry peppers, especially if there are stalls available which sell a wide range of pepper varieties.
How Do You Store Cherry Peppers?
Once cherry peppers have been pickled, they can be kept in a jar for many years as long as they have not been opened. Once opened, the jar can be stored in the fridge for a few months.
Cherry peppers that have not been pickled can be stored in a cool, dry place, however their freshness may degrade a little over time so it’s worth keeping this in mind when storing your cherry peppers.
If you would like to keep your cherry peppers soft and fresh, it’s worth storing them in the bottom drawer of your fridge where vegetables are normally stored and using them within two weeks.
Now that you know all about cherry peppers, how to use them and how to store them, you can go ahead and start adding a sweet and spicy kick to many of your dishes!
