Cubanelle peppers are long, bright, and light green. They are usually three times their width. The flesh is thin compared to bell peppers. They taste mildly hotter than sweet peppers.
These are most commonly used in Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Italian cuisines. One of the flavorful additions for stir-frying, grilling, and stuffing recipes.
Scoville scale. 100 to 1000 SHU units.
It is one of the mild sweet peppers and low on the Scoville scale, where jalapeno's Scoville units range from 3000 to 7000 SHU units.
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How do Cubanelle peppers look like?
These peppers are usually 6-8 inches long and around 2 inches wide. They are bright yellowish, light green in color, tapered with a slight bend at the bottom, and have glossy, firm skin with crinkles on the top.
It has thin flesh and holds seeds and ribs, mostly in the pepper's top portion. The ripened peppers look deep red with bright skin.
To put it comparatively, they look like an elongated form of bell pepper, and the color is similar to the banana pepper.
What hot is Cubanelle pepper?
It tastes sweet and peppery, with a mild heat that hits the taste buds. Its heat is one level over the sweet peppers, not super hot.
Its heat level varies from 100 to 1000 Scoville units. It tastes mild to moderately hot at times. The temperature fluctuates for many reasons, including the season and the growing methods.
It is slightly hotter than bell peppers but milder than jalapeno peppers.
What are Cubanelle peppers used for?
These are commonly used for making sauces, salsa, and salads. They are a great addition to pizza and sandwiches and are excellent in shrimp stir fry, scrambled eggs, or omelets.
Its gentle, peppery flavors are perfect for any recipe with a mild hint of heat.
These peppers are popular in Italian, Cuban, and other cuisines. Their thin-walled structure makes them perfect for sauteing, frying, and topping. The hollow structure inside is excellent for stuffed pepper recipes.
How do you store it?
These peppers last in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. And the red ripen peppers may last for a couple of days. You may follow any of the following to store and pepper for longer.
Freezing. Initially, arrange the cookies on the cookie sheet and freeze. Later, transfer them to a zip-lock bag for easy access and perfect portion control. This works for flash frying and topping variations.
Roasting. Roast them over the stovetop, grill, or oven method. And freeze them later. This method helps to make quick salsa or sauce.
Canning. Though it requires proper skill and time, this preservation method is the best for preserving the pepper's original flavor.
Pickling. Another classic method of storing peppers in bulk quantity. These fermented peppers are good for pizza toppings or topping the layer in burgers, sandwiches, or casseroles.
Dehydrate. You can dehydrate the peppers by hanging them in the air or using a dehydrator. The dehydrator has a longer shelf life and fits in your kitchen pantry.
Spice mix. Ground the dehydrated pepper to powder form, and use it to spice up any food instantly. It is also a huge money saver for making your spice mix.
Can you freeze?
Yes, you can freeze them as whole peppers, diced, or striped, depending on your future requirements. To thaw, leave them in the refrigerator overnight. You can also chop and add them to the stir fry as and when.
Cubanelle peppers substitute
Every type of pepper is unique and varies in its flesh, heat, and taste. The following pepper is the closest substitute for their taste.
Bell pepper. This is an excellent substitute for heat, as bell pepper has a mild heat. The bell pepper has thick flesh and is rich in moisture content.
Poblano peppers. Vary in texture and have a more peppery flavor. Remove the seeds to match the heat level of Cubanelle.
Anaheim. It's good to substitute for the texture. Note that Anaheim is hotter than Cubanelle peppers, and adjust the quantity according to the recipe.
Banana pepper. It matches the texture and has an intense, sweet flavor. But a good substitution for flash frying, stir-frying, and topping.
Cubanelle vs Anaheim Vs poblano peppers
Cubanelle peppers taste mild when compared with Anaheim and poblano peppers. Scoville heat units of the following peppers range from,
Cubanelle peppers: 100 to 1000 SHU.
Poblano peppers: 1000-1500 SHU.
Anaheim peppers: 500 to 2,500 SHU.
These facts clearly show that the Cubanelle peppers have a low heat level when comparing Anaheim or Poblano peppers.
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