I feel like pepper variability has gone up a lot in recent years

It used to be that a jalapeno was generally milder than a serrano, which in turn was milder than a thai chili

But these days, some serranos are just total duds while some jalapenos will melt your face off (case in point the one I just chopped up)

This is a spicy conspiracy still percolating through the information channels.

Something like 10/20 % of jalapeños are actually bought as fresh produce. The rest go to make jalapeño flavored chips, salsa etc.

The economic forces have pushed farmers to breed them less spicy in favor of that “jalapeño flavor”.

If i had to guess the variability part is bc there haven’t been enough generations of breeding / cross breeding with Hot ones supply chain.

friendly neighborhood shitcaster // working on @pinetree