Ingredient: Jalapeño

The jalapeño is a small to medium-sized, hot bell pepper variety named after the Mexican city of Xalapa (formerly Jalapa) and is a cultivated form of the Spanish pepper (Capsicum annuum).

The spicy heat of jalapeños is due to the capsaicin contained in the fruit. On the Scoville scale, which is commonly used to determine heat, the fruit has a heat rating of between 2,500 and 8,000 units. Although the jalapeño is generally considered very hot, it still falls far short of the capsaicin content of a habanero pepper, which has a heat rating of 100,000 to 500,000 units.