Unripe serrano peppers start out green in color and will typically grow to 3 or 4 inches in length on the plant. As with any chili pepper, you can pick and eat them at anytime in the growing process, though the flavors will change as they ripen. Eventually the serrano pods stop growing and will then change color, from green to red, brown, orange or yellow. After that they will fall off of the plant and can even rot on the plant, so it is best to pick your serrano peppers while they are still green or as they begin to change color. They will snap right off of the plant quite easily with very little pull when they are ready. Sometimes I enjoy leaving the serrano pods on the plant longer, allowing them to change colors. They are slightly sweeter in flavor, and the colors can make a dish truly pop with visual interest.
The serrano pepper has a long and dignified history in Mexican cooking. It is one of the most commonly found chilies in this area of the world and is very flavorful, thus many of Mexico's most heralded dishes involve this pepper as a flavoring. Serrano peppers get their name from the fact that the area of Mexico where they are principally from - the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo - are incredibly mountainous. The word "sierra" means mountain in Spanish, so "Serrano" is considered a permutation of this word.
Generally speaking, the plants themselves reach about one to one and a half feet tall, and each plant can produce fifty or more pepper pods. When unripe they are green, but ripe Serrano peppers can be any number of colors, from green to red to brown, orange, or yellow. Most people consider serranos to have a "crisp" flavor, and they are very commonly used in pico de gallo. They are hotter than their more famous cousin, the Jalapeno pepper, but despite this many people enjoy eating serranos raw. They are considered to be one of the more flavorful hot peppers on the market in general, which is part of what makes them so popular.
Yield: about 1 pint of hot sauce
Ingredients
Method
WHAT IS AN HEIRLOOM? Heirloom plants are grown from seeds that have been handed down thru generations, saved from year to year, some varieties dating back hundreds of years. Many made the migration from Europe and the East with the immigrants coming to the USA. The seeds are never cross pollinated and so they remain true to their particular characteristics. Heirloom tomatoes come in all colors, shapes, and sizes ? Reds, Pinks, Yellows, Orange, White, Green, Striped, and Black. Ranging in sizes of cherry and grape to large grapefruit size, meaty, or juicy.
WHY HEIRLOOM? These tomatoes and other vegetable varieties are more natural, they are non GMO (genetically modified). They do not have as long of a shelf life as store bought tomatoes/vegetables, but that is what makes them special. They have a real fantastic tomato flavor not found in grocery store offerings. These tomatoes/vegetables are indeterminate (they grow all season, they flower all season and they produce tomatoes all season. They don?t stop until frost. Once heirloom tomatoes and vegetables are picked, they do not have a long shelf life as hybrids but they more than make up for any shortcomings in flavor. This is true for all heirloom vegetables.
Please see my other listings and my store for more great varieties and thank you!