rena's websight chillies
i like chillies! the hotter the better. below you can find out my personal chilli ranking and information about our chilli plants
here’s my chilli ranking, consisting of all of my favorite chillies plus short reviews of each one. also check out our chilli plants page for the plants we’re currently growing or want to grow because they’re not necessarily listed here and some are quite pretty!
Chilli ranking
Scotch bonnet - tier
A classic hot and sweet variety from the Carribean. This is the first really hot kind of chilli I tried since they’re fairly available in the UK, and it has a distinct sweet, fruity flavor which makes it ideal for flavoring spicy Asian food. It’s also responsible for the unique flavor of Jamaiacan jerk chicken and other Carribean dishes. I highly recommend this one to any chilli lover.
Bhut Joloka (Naga/Ghost) - tier
Probably my favorite super hot chilli I’ve tried so far and has an interesting history. Naga chillies are native to Bangladesh and northeast India, and was until recently the hottest chilli in the world, although it now has a number of contenders. This chilli was discovered by people outside India and Bangaledesh in the early 2000s, although even before then it was likely in use locally prior to that. This chilli has a much ‘darker’ and rich flavor when compared to the fruity flavors of bonnets or even reapers, and when I tasted it I thought ‘this tastes of death, but in an interesting way’. I’ve grown to like these chillies a lot and they’ve become our favorite for making sauce, where we often combine them with other chillies to make a more mellow, tasty sauce. The naga chilli is highly recommended.
Habanero - tier
Another reasonably hot chilli with about the same scoville rating as the Scotch bonnet, but with a more floral and slightly less sweet flavor than the scotch bonnet. I rate this one a little lower than the scotch bonnet since it’s in the same heat range but less hot, but it’s a very tasty alternative. The distinct sweet flavor is great for hot sauces, of which we’ve made a few. This one is also highly recommended.
Carolina reaper - tier
One of the most well known superhots and currently recognized as the hottest chilli pepper in the world by Guinness. Despite looking like a wrinkly devil’s asshole carolina reapers are actually surprisingly fruity and sweet, and have a distinct flavor which reminds me of rich tomatoes. They’re also intensely hot and will kick your butt and give you a massive adrenaline hit if you aren’t used to eating super hots. Often available dried or as a powder, carolina reapers are great for chillis as the rich fruity tomato flavor really enhances them, and the intense heat means that you don’t need more than a couple for a whole pot of chilli.
Jalapeno - tier
The classic mexican pepper. Jalapenos are chunky, with firm, smooth flesh, and are often used for pickling, or smoked to produce chipotle peppers. They can also be used for many other things including stuffing to make jalapeno poppers, which are often made with larger varieties of jalapenos. If you get them in the store they’re often green, but Jalapenos actually ripen to a bright red color, and I’d guess they pick them early in order to produce more chillies. However if you get to try fully ripe jalapenos they’re intensely sweet and it’s quite a different experience to the green ones, and imo enhances them greatly. Very available and pretty tasty, but not very hot.
Fire flame - tier
A very large and tasty variety of cayenne chillis, these are great as a pizza topping, or to mellow out the flavor and heat profile of sauces. They’re bright red and have a classic ‘hot chilli’ aesthetic, and are hotter than Jalapenos but less fleshy. I’d say they’re a good alternative to Jalapenos for those reasons, but less good for pickling since they’re not as chunky.
