Hey, did you know that jalapeños aren’t as spicy as they used to be? Yeah, crazy, right? So, apparently, back in the day, your grandparents’ jalapeños had way more kick to them. But about 40 years ago, farmers started growing them differently on purpose.
Nowadays, most of the jalapeños you find in stores are less spicy, and they’re mostly used in things like salsa and flavored chips. It turns out, big food companies wanted them mild so they could be more consistent. You know, nobody wants to bite into a chip and have their mouth on fire unexpectedly.
I saw this post on social media the other day that talked about it and linked to a story from last year. It’s kind of wild to think about how much things have changed.
But hey, if you’re still craving that intense heat, you might have to hunt down some jalapeños from smaller farms. Those tend to be spicier. Oh, and fun fact: most of the jalapeños you find at the store are called “TAM 2” peppers, and they were developed by a team at Texas A&M.
And get this: if food companies want to make things spicier now, they usually add an extract, like the same stuff they use in pepper spray. Crazy, right?
(NY Post)
