habanero minus the heat? meet the ‘habanada’

THREE HABANEROS rank on New Mexico State University’s top-10 hottest chiles roster. But what happens when you take the heat out of the habanero (besides that it doesn’t make the list)? You get a ‘Habanada’—as in there’s nada so crazy-hot about it to distract your mouth from the little pepper’s complex flavor.

Eaten when orange and ripe, the recently released ‘Habanada’ has a floral character and a lingering sweetness, plus just a hint of spice, says its breeder, Michael Mazourek of Cornell University (above).

Though the ‘Habanada’ was developed during research for the PhD Mazourek earned in 2008, it wasn’t commercially available until this season, when Fruition Seeds licensed it from Cornell, to sell by mail as transplants. Plans are to build up quantity of seed in coming years, and sell packets, too.

The ‘Habanada’ actually got its start with seed from New Mexico State. Heatless chance mutations had shown up in habanero populations in the breeding program there, and though they didn’t figure into the plans, scientists thought their Cornell colleague might be interested.

Besides refining the flavor over 13 generations, Mazourek had another task: eliminating the risk of mistaken identity. Lest anyone growing, selling, or cooking with both habanero and ‘Habanada’ fear taking a bite of the wrong one, no worry, says co-founder Petra Page-Mann of Fruition. The ‘Habanada’ has broad shoulders like its ancestor, but is more tapered and not squashed at the end in classic habanero form.

For chefs, the excitement is being able to taste the other notes besides heat—and not just in pico de gallo. When Nora Antene of Le Pigeon restaurant in Portland, Oregon, was paired with Mazourek’s ‘Habanada’ at the 2014 Culinary Breeding Network

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