On 23 Aug 2003 05:34:38 -0700, (Joy) wrote:

I just began harvesting my peppers and was so looking forwrd to their
adding heat and spice to many of my favorite recipes. Unfortunately,
they do not seem to have any heat at all. Is this something that
should have developed on the plant or will they get more heat while
sitting. I have read that they get hotter when you freeze them, but I
don't want to do that for all. This is my first year growing them and
would love any tips,advice, etc.

There's a lot of lore involved in the 'hotness' of peppers. And it is,
indeed, variable. Fruits from the same plant can vary quite a bit.
There are theories about heat (climate), amount of water, fertilizing,
and every other variable you can think of. In my experience, peppers
of all sorts that are left to turn from green to red are 'sweeter'
than green. And freezing seems to take some of the hot out, rather
than increase it. YMMV. Unfortunately for precise identification,
there *are* now 'mild' varieties of jalapenos -- why, I can't imagine.
You may have gotten one/some of these plants. Keep picking and
tasting.