Italian long hots – but what kind of pepper are they anyway?
Oh, I really love these peppers! These peppers are pretty popular in the Philadelphia area. Know simply as “Italian Long hots”, for years, I would wonder what type of pepper the Italian long hot peppers really were.
Then, one day, a few years ago, I was at my local store picking up some vegetable plants for my garden and I saw the answer: Italian long hots are called Mesilla peppers. Well, I thought I had the answer until a reader mentioned otherwise.
My assumption is that these peppers are a hybrid, some kind of cross between a mesilla pepper and another pepper.
These are pretty easy to find at certain local stores but I’d imagine outside of the Philadelphia area, they might not be as easy to find. Growing them is super easy! They don’t require a lot of water, just plenty of sunshine. I bought two plants this year and they yielded about 2 dozen peppers each.
Mesilla peppers: Heat index
Mesilla peppers: Heat indexSo, it’s been said that eating Italian long hots is like playing Russian roulette because some are milder than others. That’s probably because Italian long hots are hybrid peppers. According to the Scoville heat index, the Mesilla peppers have a heat index of 4500, which is similar to that of Jalapeno peppers, and I’m not sure what the other pepper was used in the hybridization process (if it was even intentional, probably not).
If you seed Jalapeno peppers, they are not that hot and the same holds true for Italian long hots (although this has also been challenged and it is said that seeding does not affect the heat index).
Cooking and serving Italian long hots
I usually cook long hots in a pan on top of the stove, using a little salt and olive oil. Pretty simple. This time I opted to put the peppers in the oven after drizzling with olive oil and salt. Easy!
Serve long hots with bread and cheese, or (my preference) as a topping to your favorite sandwich. My favorite way to eat these is stuffed in a veggie hoagie (roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, broccoli rabe and provolone cheese). They are also good on roast beef or roast pork sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 12 Italian long hots
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degreesPlace peppers on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with saltRoast until the peppers soften up, about 15 to 20 minutesCool and serve with bread and cheese or as a topping for sandwiches (you may want to seed the peppers before eating to reduce the heat, depending on your tolerance for spicy foods)These may be covered with olive oil and stored in the refrigerator for later use
Licia Trifoglio says
Great way to prepare them. Growing up they were always on the table as a side. Wonderful on italian bread with a sprinkle of grated cheese or a slice of provolone. Making them tomorrow to go along side my pasta with bolognese. I also like to add these to my sausage and broccoli rabe pasta after they are cooked. Just yummy 🙂
karen says
I am so happy to have found this. I just harvested over a dozen of these beauties and am at this moment roasting them slowly with salted beef heart. I and the fur babies are getting impatient. Anyway, the seeds I have are called pepperoncini by that company. I tried these before and they sure didn’t look like pepperoncini. I did some research and discovered the peppers produced are actually Italian Long Hots. I wrote the company and two years later purchased same which are the Italan Long Hots. LOL I picked up the same packet because the seeds are hard to find and are not viabe for long here in Ecuador.
Marie says
They are great when slow roasted! This is about the time for me to get my plant started. Fortunately, my local nursery sells the plants. It’s a short growing season here too but the same nursery that sells the plants also sells the peppers year round, so I’m fortunate. It’s much more fn to grow your own though!
Dave says
Hi Maria – south Philly Italian born and raised near 9th street Italian market – surprised no one mentioned serving these long hots with blue point crabs and spaghetti – such a favorite all timer- plus the aroma is spiritual – ciao Bella
Marie says
Spaghetti and crabs!!! My all-time favorite food! My dad would always make it but I’ve never had long hots with it! I’ll definitely try it next time…thanks so much for the suggestion 🙂
Sandy says
am also from the Phila/SoJersey area……….love long hots. Have since moved to NC. When I ask about them…..they don’t have a clue. Started searching and have found a pepper plant very close to Philly long hots. They are called “cowhorn” peppers and are grown by Bonnie Plants. Try them, you won’t be disappointed!!!
Marie says
They look almost exactly like long hots! I’m going to compare if I can find a cowhorn plant locally – plently of long hots here 🙂
Nick says
Thank you for posting this.
Robert Costanzo says
I am looking for fresh Italian long hot peppers I can buy on line or near Seattle.
Thank you,
Marie says
Try this link or this one
Marianna Oconnell says
Over 25 years ago I ate my first Italian Long Hots while visiting a friend in Philly. Since then I’ve cooked all sorts of peppers but just like the hoagie roll, they’re not the same. I live in St Lou and wondered if you could help me with finding seeds.
Thank you
Marianna
Marie says
I just saw some for sale on Amazon.com of that doesn’t work, send me an email in late spring or early summer and I’d be happy to send you some seeds from my plant. I buy long hots every at the local plant nursery
Franklin says
Mesilla peppers are a cayenne hybrid, and not the same as long hots. Long hots are 500-1000 on the Scoville scale, so much much milder than a jalapeño. Also, seeds do not contain any capsaicin, so removing the seeds does not make a proper less spicy.
Marie says
Hi Franklin – thanks for the information! Interesting to hear that about the seeds…as far as long hots, my info is from the local nursery here is Philadelphia suburbs. Are you in the northeast region of the US too? My hunch is that the Italian long hots are a Mesilla hybrid since they are unique to this area and they vary so much in intensity from one pepper to another. Thanks for calling attention to this!