Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Pimiento de Padrón (a.k.a. Padrón pepper)
The most famous pepper of Spain...
Padrón peppers, also called Herbón peppers, are a variety of peppers from the municipality of Padrón. This pepper is a specialty grown in Galicia in northern Spain. It is traditionally eaten as a simple tapa, fried in olive oil and tossed with salt; it is harvested young and small, with a tender skin and no mature seeds, so it’s perfect for eating whole, bitten right off the stem. It is generally mild with a nutty flavor at this stage, but it gets hotter as it matures. Part of the fun of eating these peppers is that about one in a dozen will be pretty hot.
The most famous pepper of Spain, the Padron Pepper is a unique and delightful little pepper with a variety of traditional uses. Fruits are most commonly picked green and have a delicious, sweet flavor, with some heat near their centers. Though often classified as a sweet pepper, about 5-10% of the fruits come out hot. If allowed to ripen to red, fruits gain heat as well. Usually fried and used for tapas, but the peppers can also be processed into paprika.