NEW YORK - With fiery mouths and burning fingers, consumers have been clamoring for all things pepper lately. As our industry knows better than most, heat-infused flavor profiles look to be a lasting eating preference. So you can imagine the shockwaves that are eminating after a new pepper variety will soon be inching towards the hot pepp scene; a heatless habanero.
Pioneering grower Noah Robbins, CEO of Ark Foods, said he has the next hot (proverbially only) pepper in the habanero family whose most memorable quality is its sweetness.
“Tangy, sweet melon-like flavor; your taste buds brace for the heat, but it never comes,” Noah said in an interview with Vice Munchies, stating that the search for this variety started with his fascination with the flavors that came prior to a traditional habanero’s quick and heated kick.
Though Noah didn’t breed this new variety himself, he underwent a serious quest to uncover the perfect sweet and flavor heavy variety. Once discovered, Noah and his company underwent deliberate methods to populate the variety on a grand scale in order to secure greater seed supply. This endeavor took three years to get to where it is now, and is still a work in progress.
When asked what he thought of the dominant pepper culture, Noah stated, “To be honest, I mostly think it’s awesome that people are showing so much enthusiasm for a vegetable in the first place, but I’m way more interested in adding to the breadth of produce in the marketplace than all the YouTube hype.”
Noah stated that the Sweet Habanero isn’t catering to consumers who are looking for a mild palate pleaser, but rather a purely flavor-focused experience. He describes the eating experience as “weird and complicated” for the flips it makes a consumer's mind perform.
“The heatless habanero is just one of many, many peppers vying for position in a market that is only getting hotter every day,” added Patrick Ahern, Senior Buyer for Baldor Specialty Foods and distributor of the variety, in the same interview.
In an added bonus, the two emphasized that the flavorful variety comes at a reasonable price point, which is sure to spur foodservice experimentation.
For more on the Sweet Habanero, the history behind its new stardom, and the intricate nature of its existence, read the full interview here.
Will this sweet habanero stand up against its attention grabbing counterparts? AndNowUKnow will be sure to report.
