About ChilePeppers.com

Chili Cookoff Prep — Weighing peppers for chili cookoff – feels about right

I've enjoyed spicy foods ever since I was first introduced to them as a teenager (long time ago). Whether it was salsa, a bowl of chili, or simply eating a few pickled jalapenos, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor as well as the sensation; and the hotter it was, the more I liked it.*

Later, inspired by a neighbor who brought us fresh jalapenos from her garden, my son and I planted a few cayenne, jalapeno and habanero seeds behind our garage. We were surprised by how easy it was, with our plants reaching waist to chest-high and supplying a seemingly endless supply of peppers through mid-November.

To our amazement, we'd only scratched the surface of the pepper universe as we quickly found there were hundreds more varieties. So many, that no matter how many we tried, there'd always be more! We liked growing new chile varieties as much as tasting them. Soon, we went from attending a local chili cookoff to competing with our own fiery recipes, made with our home-grown chiles. We'd bring a few pepper plants along to display, which led to trading banter and seeds with fellow chile pepper enthusiasts. We were hooked!

At present, we typically grow around 25-40 varieties a year and continuously seek out new varieties to try. We especially enjoy stumbling upon accidental hybrids worthy of developing as well as experimenting with new growing techniques.

We've launched this site to share what we've learned and to serve as motivation for us to continue in our learning. We hope you enjoy our website and find it useful. We're always interested in your thoughts, techniques and ideas.

All the best,

Bob Z., ChilePeppers.com Founder
email me | follow us on Facebook | our favorite peppers

* Full disclosure: Back then, habaneros were recognized as the world's the hottest pepper – there's no way I can handle eating a whole Carolina reaper or ghost pepper on its own. Though, I do very much like growing and sampling the super hots and frequently turn them into seasoning powders.