It’s getting mild in here: OSU debuts new, less spicy, habanero breeds

If you’re on the lookout for ingredients to stir into a homemade salsa that won’t fry your tongue, you may be in luck next year.

That’s when Oregon State University vegetable breeder Jim Myers says two new varieties of habanero peppers he’s developed should be up for grabs at farmers markets and for those looking to spice up — or in this case, dull down — their fruit and vegetable gardens.

Importantly, those varieties, aptly called “Mild Thing” and “Notta Hotta,” have the sweet taste one comes to expect from the shiny red fruit — yes, it’s technically a fruit, Google it — but without the classic and intense nose-running pungency.

That is, these peppers likely won’t make a trending celebrity cry during a trip to the “Hot Ones” table.

The Scoville reading for the two peppers — a helpful measurement of a pepper’s spice level — clocks in between 500 to 1,000 heat units, Myers said, which shouldn’t be too overwhelming for the taste buds.

That’s closer to bell pepper on the scale than a regular habanero, which can reach between 100,000 to 300,000 on the Scoville chart, Myers said.

He’s actually been working on these varieties for the past 25 years.

It began as more of a backburner project for the OSU professor, whose work focuses on a half-dozen crops, such as green beans and broccoli. But the project really came into focus this past decade, he told a small group of reporters at OSU’s Lewis-Brown Farm, just off Peoria Road.

All were gathered around a table with bowls of freshly picked Notta Hottas and Mild Things to taste test.

That table was situated alongside a planted row of bright red Mild Thing peppers, roughly half of which Myers estimated to be ripe, highlighting another notable difference about these peppers: They mature slightly faster than their traditional counterparts.

The habanero species was domesticated in the Amazon, Myers explained, and thrives in a warm, tropical climate.

These milder varieties were developed to be more adaptable to western Oregon’s cooler climate and ripen between one to two weeks faster.

Myers said it took between five and six generations of peppers to get the desired traits, such as the flavor profile and reduced pungency, following numerous trials and taste evaluations with the help of graduate students.

With the peppers cleared by OSU for release, the next steps are getting a deal with seed companies which would be interested in licensing Mild Thing and Notta Hotta.

Beyond those interested parties, the new varieties have received a warm reception from chefs, according to Lane Selman, an assistant professor at OSU.

She’s also the founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, which connects vegetable breeders like Myers, farmers, chefs and your average consumers to collaborate on the development of new foods.

The network’s partnership on this particular project began in 2011, Selman said by phone, with chefs helping Myers identify traits like shape, size and color that were most appealing, beyond maturity and pungency considerations.

The feedback extended beyond physical attributes. In fact, the names for the milder habaneros, Myers said, came from Nikki Guerrero, the owner of Portland-based Hot Mama Salsa.

And while steeped in the rigor of the agricultural sciences, there is an undeniable unburned-tongue-in-cheek attitude about the whole enterprise.

That’s perhaps best exemplified by one of the posters on the taste test table advertising the new varieties, which Myers said evokes images he’s seen of men on Harleys challenging their stomachs with infamously hot Carolina Reapers.

Instead, in this picture, Myers sits on an electric bike smiling with the milder pepper.