Lars, give an expiation, please

Jalapeños are a solid colored pepper, so my best guess would be the ribs. The majority of the capsaicin (source of peppers' heat) in a hot pepper is in the ribs, so the sections without the ribs would logically be less hot than those that have the ribs, even if you cut the ribs themselves out.

^My thought, too…ribs/membranes. See what Lars says.

I think he's talking about corking/cracking. Doesn't necessarily indicate heat level.

https://pepperscale.com/pepper-corking/

I agree with Judi. The lines on the outside are often white. Stretchmarks? :D Judi's link says they're more mature. I can tell by feel. The really young dark ones feel very plump and are usually pretty mild. Even if they don't have the lines, there's a point when they're not so wet and plump, though still firm, and the flavor is more concentrated with or without the white lines.

If you haven't ever seen the lines, it's probably because the grocers don't think they're pretty enough.

I have heard about the white lines and interpreted it as the cracking in the skin. That I understood was from stress like uneven watering. I have no idea if that makes them hotter but I tend to treat them as so…

It is a common belief that those corky lines mean a hotter pepper, but I'm not sure it's proven. Stress does usually mean more heat, IME.

Well, I only get that at home when I grow them. It is only the older that do that, so stands to reason they would be hotter.

No, the stores would not usually have them, since they look blemished.

If the corking/cracking indicates more heat, I’d definitely have to avoid them.🤯

Corking is because of genetics. Some peppers are more prone to it than others, with jalapeno being one of the most prone. That's why you see it more on jalapenos than other hot peppers. It's usually considered an imperfection in the U.S. market, that's why you don't see it much at the grocery store. Some varieties of them are bred for increased corking by folks that consider it a tasty and desirable trait. If you can find Farmers or Potato jalapenos, those are among the corkiest ones more commonly found. I haven't seen either in a while. Often more mature fruits will have corking because they were allowed time and treatment to form them. We don't often see a lot of red jalapenos in the U.S. grocery stores either- because a mature green fruit is preferred over a fully ripe red one. I know, there's other color jalapenos- just the most common store green ones tend to be the ones that turn red.

What basicly happens is the insides of the pepper grow faster than the skin does. It can be exacerbated by uneven watering. Some torture terroir can bring it out more too- it can also bring out stress capsaicin. It's a bit akin to what a tomato goes through with cracking. You see the scarring after the skin has stretched or cracked. Most tomatoes tend to have thinner skin and more of the water swell issue than peppers do. Less of the genetics of growing faster inside than the skin that some peppers can be prone to.

I am having trouble finding original jalapeno peppers or plants. Everything has been bred to be so mild, you really should of just bought a bell pepper.

We don't often see a lot of red jalapenos in the U.S. grocery stores either- because a mature green fruit is preferred over a fully ripe red one.

I think it's more the pepper needs to stay on the plant longer to turn red, so they pick them green. I much prefer red, especially for serranos.

I think others have answered this question!

From my experience, the corking does indicate more heat, and the exterior lines are usually white, but sometimes they can be dark. If you find a jalapeño that is smooth with no white or dark lines in its skin, it will generally be milder. The Scoville range for jalapeños is greater than for almost any other chili, and this is why they can be unpredictable.

I often find red (ripe) jalapeños in the regular markets that I go to, but not the Latin markets, and they are more expensive. My favorite Latin market (whose owners are from Jalisco), Cárdenas, tends to have jalapeños with a lot of corking, but I believe that this is what the shoppers there prefer.

When I grew my own jalapeños, I would never harvest them until they were red.

Now I'm hungry for baked poppers -- hold the bacon.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pepper-poppers/

I do like the bacon.

Skip the dressing and I use one 8oz package of Sargento grated Mexican cheese.

I also prefer fully ripe peppers and chiles to green ones - they're usually sweeter - have more nutritional value too.

I really miss growing my own peppers. Chili thrips always destroy them nowadays.

Sherry8aNorthAL, I only use cream cheese and grated sharp cheddar. No need for anything else.

To each their own.

I looked up "expiation" to make sure I understood what CA Kate wanted, and found this definition:

"the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement."

I must have done something wrong that I was unaware of, although I was expecting this. However, it was unintentional, but I still feel guilty.

I looked up "expiation" to make sure I understood what CA Kate wanted, and found this definition:

I assumed it was a misspelling for explanation.

Yeah, I see explanation misspelled two times in the first post, title and content. That's what I assumed it was, just a misspelling.

Because of the stokes, I do have more trouble with typing and the spelling as well. I do try to find the errors and correct them, but I do still miss some. (The goodies I make with mis- speaking! Family and friends will have a fun time with the mix-up of the words I create to whole new ones.) (There I tried to correct one sentence)

Thanks for the explanation! I did have to say that when I first saw the title, it was a bit surprising to me.

Sorry to hear about the strokes, and I hope you are doing better. I live in fear of having one myself. A friend of mine had one, but he recovered very well from it and has not had another one, but if you have had more than one, then I imagine that you have to be very careful.

As for spelling - if you accidentally misspell something and it is a correct spelling for a different word, then it can seem intentional, although I now know in this case it was not.

I 'm told that I've been blessed with an almost miracle recovery. I think that brain damage - of any kind - is the hardest because on the outside no one can 'spot' this and is less forgiving for whatever problems aren't apparent. I guess I've become more understanding and more patient for what we might not see.

Strokes can be pretty bad for some, but there is a medication that if they can give it to you within hours then your prognosis is pretty good. My BIL quickly got the medication and has had an almost complete recovery. So there is hope, Lars.

I refer to those jalapenos as beign stirated. It has been my perception that they are the most mature. I look for that when buying jalapenos.