Chile Pepper Fun Fact - The Mad Hatter Chile Pepper
A Chile Pepper with the same name as an Alice in Wonderland character? Yup, there is...
The Mad Hatter pepper is a hybrid of the unique mitre-shaped Bishop's Crown pepper and a 2017 winner of the All-America Selection Award (AAS). It has a similar sweet, fruity taste as the Bishop's Crown, but with much less heat (500 to 1,000 Scoville heat units.)
The Mad Hatter isn’t just a looker, it walks the talk on flavor, too. This is one delicious chili. It’s fruity-sweet, with both citrus and floral notes that gain in intensity as the fruits mature. The chili’s thin walls also add to the eating experience. They provide a crispness to the fruit when it’s eaten fresh.
That crispness and flavor make the Mad Hatter pepper an excellent choice as a raw bell pepper alternative for salads. They are also excellent raw peppers to use as crudités — they pair exceptionally well with cheese.
Really, anywhere you’d use a bell, you could use the Mad Hatter chili. Try it in salsas, on sandwiches, or atop pizzas. And while the Mad Hatter has thinner walls, the wide body of the fruit does allow for use as a stuffed pepper. And a bold cheese (again) is a perfect foil to the fruity sweetness you get here.
That sweetness, too, works with pickling. So, if you want a twist on pickled jalapeños (or another pickled peppers recipe), try giving this chili a try.