Mix-ups between peppers are common occurrences. Why Do People Think These Peppers are the Same Thing? Sometimes different types look so similar, it would take banana peppers certified expert to tell them apart, but no two peppers have fallen so erroneously synonymous than the banana pepper and the pepperoncini pepper.
If – like most of us – you’ve spent your entire life believing these peppers were one and the same, get ready for some spicy revelations as we discuss all the things that set them apart. It’s really no surprise these peppers are confused with one another. They can in many cases look extremely similar, they both originated in the Americas, and when pickled, they can be truly indistinguishable. Matters are further confused by the fact that pepperoncini in Italy is more of a general term for hot chili peppers. To the rest of the world, this word refers to a specific pepper also known as Friggitelli, but the name evidentially carried some of its native ambiguity along with it. Let’s get right down to business and explore the dichotomy between these kinds of peppers in terms of spice.
Standard varietals of both the banana and pepperoncini pepper measure up to 500 units on the Scoville scale, which is very mild. To give you a bit of context, jalapeno peppers measure between 2500 and 8000 SHU. I know what you’re thinkingat this point, they do indeed sound like the same pepper, but when we consider the low end of their Scoville spectrums, we begin to see an end to their parity. Some banana peppers can measure a big fat 0 SHU, meaning, they don’t even have the faintest hint of spice. Pepperoncini, on the other hand, never fall below the 100 SHU threshold, so if you’re looking for heat, they’re your best betor so it may seem. When we examine some of the banana pepper’s varietals, a very different picture is painted indeed. The Hungarian wax pepper is of particular interest.
As they mature towards their red finality, their sweetness grows while their heat dissipates. Yellow also reinforces the banana pepper’s name and makes them more appealing to consumers. You’ll mostly find pepperoncini peppers with green, greenish-yellow, or deep red hues. Pepperoncini peppers are at their spiciest when they’re green, so it makes sense that they’d be harvested at that point in their ripening process. Red ones, having stayed on the vine for longer, will have sweetened.
If you really want to glean a deeper understanding of the differences between these peppers, you’re going to want to just give them a try. Both are widely considered sweet peppers, but the banana pepper is minutely sweeter than the pepperoncini. Pepperoncini are sharper, even noted to hold a hint of bitterness at times, especially the Italian variation, but they also tend to be more succulent than banana peppers. When pickled, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tell these peppers apart because the pickling liquid has overpowered differences in flavor that were subtle to begin with.