How to Tell If a Pimento Pepper Plant Is Hot

Don't put the hot ones in your spaghetti sauce.

Don't put the hot ones in your spaghetti sauce.

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All pimento peppers (Capsicum annuum) are sweet; none are hot. Therefore, if you identify a pimento pepper plant, you've got a plant that grows mild, sweet peppers, perfect for spaghetti sauces and canning. Dried, crushed pimentos are sold as sweet paprika. Pimentos and bell peppers are kissing cousins, although pimentos have a distinctive shape and flavor that allow you to recognize them in a lineup. Chile peppers (Capsicum annuum) are hot or hotter depending upon their supply of capsaicin, the chemical substance that creates the heat for which chilies are loved by some and avoided by others. Because hot peppers come in many shapes and sizes and most pepper foliage is similar, your best bet is to know what pimento fruit looks like so you won't stumble into an unpleasant surprise.


Compare the pepper plants in your garden. Note that all have deep green color, but some are more vigorous than others. Look for pimento plants to be larger than the other pepper plants, about 24 inches in height and width. According to North Carolina State University Extension experts, pimento pepper plants must be spaced farther apart than other pepper plants because of their greater vigor.


Watch for the fruit to appear after the white flowers fade. Pimento peppers grow in green and rounded, and then turn bright red as they mature.


Measure the red fruit. Identify pimentos by the heart-shaped red fruit around 3 to 4 inches long by 2 inches wide.

Things You Will Need

  • Tape measure


  • Given that most peppers produce lance-shaped green leaves and white flowers, your best best for identifying sweet pimentos is by the fruit's shape. Most types of hot chile peppers produce elongated fruit, including the cayenne pepper, serranos and Anaheim chile (all Capsicum annum), tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens) and super-hot habanero peppers (Capsicum chinense).
  • There are more than 100 different species, and they frequently cross-pollinate, so an exact identification of a hot chile is not always possible.


  • If you still have any doubt about the heat of a pepper, touch your tongue to a very small slice before using it in a sauce or salad. Wait a few minutes to see the result -- in some peppers, heat takes time to occur.

About the Author

Teo Spengler


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