habanero

American  

[hah-buh-nair-oh] / ˌhɑ bəˈnɛər oʊ /

noun

plural

habaneros

1. an extremely pungent small pepper, the fruit of a variety of Capsicum chinense, used in cooking.

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Habanero British  

/ aβaˈnero /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Havana

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Etymology

Origin of habanero

From Spanish chile habanero “chili from Havana”

Explanation

A habanero is a small, extremely hot pepper. Habaneros come in various colors, ranging from green to dark red, but you can't tell how hot a habanero is until you taste it. The habanero was once declared the hottest chile by Guiness World Records, but it was eventually overtaken by even spicier peppers. Habaneros have a deceptively sweet initial flavor, with their intense heat increasing over several minutes and often lasting as long as an hour. The habanero was named for the Cuban city of Havana, or La Habana in Spanish.

Example Sentences

But much more than heat makes the habanero a culinary charmer worth bringing into your home.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2024

For comparison, a habanero pepper typically hits 100,000 Scoville heat units, but Pepper X registers at 2.69 million units.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2023

The only thing that was missing, I said, was the habanero salsa that typically accompanies Yucateco cooking.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023

Serrano's version is a sesame and beet mole with sliced beets, fennel, pine nuts, kumquats and habanero kosho.

From Salon • Aug. 20, 2023

They burn like I accidentally rubbed them after deseeding a habanero.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera