There’s a new breed of peppers on the market. More specifically, it’s a new breed of mild Habaneros created by breeders at Oregon State University. OSU Professor Jim Myers says peppers are indeed a fruit.

“Yes, they are, but they’re used, in this case, you know, quite often they’re used as a vegetable. They’re used in a savory dish. But I would say these are very, highly versatile, so they can be used in savory dishes or deserts, and that makes it fruit too.”

While not a big fan of the extremely hot peppers, Myers has spent several years developing two new mild Habaneros varieties called “Mild Thing” and “Notta Hotta.”

I’ve always liked the Habanero peppers because they have this wonderful fruity fragrance, aroma, and flavor, but then that gets masked by the heat in the Habanero type.”

Myers says the journey began 25 years ago, kind of by accident.

“So, I found a pepper that was given to me by a breeder down at Texas A&M University that was a mild Habanero, and I grew it out one year in my pepper nursery at the research farm. And the next year, it had outcrossed with the hot Habaneros. So, then I had to start a project to breed it back to a mild state again.”

So, when and where can we find the new mild Habaneros?

“We’re talking to seed companies right now. There isn’t anything that’s signed and sealed at this point, but we’re also increasing seed. So, what we’re hoping is that in the spring, there would be seed available from one of our local seed companies.”