Orange Jalapeño Santa Fe by Erich Stekovics, medium-hot
Orange Jalapeño Santa Fe by Erich Stekovics are Santa Fe chili peppers harvested at the orange intermediate ripening stage and pickled in tomato vinegar. Sugar and salt round off the brine, keeping the rings fruity and ensuring their heat remains at a sociable level.
Orange Jalapeño Santa Fe is the pickled chili pepper by Erich Stekovics from the Pannonian region of Burgenland; they are thick-fleshed and therefore remain firm even after weeks in the jar. The vinegar comes from tomatoes grown in the same garden and provides a mild, fruity acidity beneath the heat.
Fruity acidity above noticeable heat
With the first bite, the acidity is at the forefront—soft and rounded—because tomato vinegar is less sharp than bottled spirit vinegar. Then the heat builds up, clearly perceptible but still easy to handle at the table.
The orange chili tastes fuller and sweeter than its green sister, without reaching the deep intensity of the fully ripened red version. The sugar in the brine balances the acidity, while the salt holds the fruit together. What remains is a crunchy ring with punch, which easily elevates a simple buttered bread.
In the jar, the rings are packed tightly, orange to apricot in color, with the light-colored seeds as dots in between. When you open the lid, you first smell the vinegar, and beneath it, the fruit. After weeks in the refrigerator, the jar still looks as it did on the first day because the thick flesh of this variety barely releases any water. Erich Stekovics cleans and cuts the peppers by hand before they are placed in the brine.
For a snack platter, on burgers, in salads
Place two or three rings next to mountain cheese and raw ham, and the snack platter gets the counterpoint it otherwise lacks.
On burgers, over nachos, on pizza, or chopped in potato salad, this chili finds its place wherever fat and starch need a sharp edge. It provides both acidity and heat to grilled meat, and it is a staple in tacos anyway.
The brine in the jar can also be reused, for example as an acidic kick in a salad dressing. Always make sure the remaining rings are submerged in it again, otherwise they will quickly lose their crunch in the refrigerator.
Santa Fe, harvested between green and red
Every jalapeño goes through the same color stages, from green to orange to red, and with each stage, it becomes sweeter and milder in tone. Almost exclusively the green stage is found in stores because it has the longest shelf life and can be picked earliest.
Erich Stekovics, however, waits for the orange intermediate ripening stage, in which fruitiness and heat are perfectly balanced. Santa Fe is a medium-hot variety with thick flesh, designed for exactly this purpose: it retains its shape in vinegar, where thin-walled peppers would have long since become soft. The jalapeño is named after Xalapa in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where it was once traded.
A jar of color for your snack
Orange is a rare color in the pantry, which is exactly why this jar stands out among the preserves. If you like heat without making it the focus of the entire plate, this is the right level for you. You can also find the mixed Colorful Jalapeño among the chili specialties by Erich Stekovics.
Content 270 g – Drained weight 120 g
