PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Bred and perfected over the course of two decades, two new pepper varieties, sans heat, will soon be available to grow.
“Notta Hotta” and “Mild Thing” are habanero peppers developed by Jim Myers, a vegetable breeder at Oregon State University, but according to the school, the peppers have the same distinct taste as other habaneros but without the scorching heat.
“We had chefs walking up to them and looking at them and saying, ‘I know in my mind you’ve told me they’re not hot, but physically I’m preparing for intense heat when I taste these,’” said Myers.
Myers began breeding the peppers in 2001 when he was given a mild habanero pepper by a fellow vegetable breeder, Kevin Crosby, from Texas A&M University.
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The school said that the mild habanero was then accidentally crossed during a pepper variety trial which led to the creation of a pepper with desirable color, shape, pungency and time to ripen.