Well a lot depends on if you are picking them or growing them.
What determines the amount of capcaisin in a pepper is genetics....and growing conditions.
The "smaller the hotter" sort of holds water, given the heat of pequinos, but then anaheims are hotter than green bell peppers and are often larger.
As for the stem thing? I think that's just his opinion. If you grow your own then all the peppers on the same plant should be the same hotness....unless you are picking them at varying degrees of ripeness.
Linda C

The smaller is hotter rule is definitely true - in general. You won't find any extremely hot chilies that are huge, and I would be very wary of any of those that are extremely small. All of the hottest ones I've had were very tiny. As for the stem thing - that sounds like a new myth - I've never even heard of it before.

Lars

There can often be varying degrees of hotness of peppers on the same plant, usually due to growing conditions(or 'stress') as Linda mentioned. There are a few threads about this over on the hot pepper forum.
I wouldn't agree with the 'smaller is hotter' thing. Yes, pequins are hot, but many peppers are larger and hotter, habanero for example. And saying that can cause someone not familiar with peppers a lot of pain. And the stem thing? I don't think there's anything to it(but I'm not a true "chilihead"). But, you might post your question on the hot pepper forum to see what kind of(interesting, I'm sure)responses you get.

Lindac, do you think that ripeness contributes to hotness? I always thought that all ripeness did was increase the sugars in the fruit. Is a red jalapeno hotter than a green one? In my limited experience, I don't think so.

Steve

To be clear, the claim that Guy made about smaller=hotter does not apply when comparing 2 different types of peppers, but only applies to the same type of pepper. In other words, if I pick a jalepeno from a plant that is mature, but half the size of another equally mature pepper on the same plant, the smaller of the two will be hotter.

That's the claim anyway.

The other claim comes from chefs who are well regarded for their Chile relleno using poblano peppers. Their claim is that some poblanos are quite hot and others quite mild and that the stem tells the difference. If it's straight, it's mild. If it bends sharply, it's hot. Again, that's the claim.

I *could* post this on the hot pepper forum, but I grow peppers myself and have for years and can honestly say I have never paid attention to size versus heat level or stem straight or bent versus heat level.

I figured you culinary types might be a better judge of these claims ;)

Perhaps another question would be if you go to the store to buy a chile pepper, how do you try to determine the overall heat level of the pepper? Obviously habeneros will be much hotter than jalepenos, but within the same type such as poblanos does anyone have a method to select the hotter or more mild ones (other than taking a bite out of each which I hear store owners frown upon ;) ?

Justaguy, after re-reading your post, the "within a specific type" finally sunk in. I still think it has a lot to do with growing conditions/stress. I grow on a small scale and my jalapenos, for instance, are usually pretty uniform in size. If there are significantly smaller ones, they are usually the first ones at the start of the season, or the last ones of the season. The first ones may be quite hot, the last ones can vary due to cooler temps, a lot of rain, or immaturity. The other, more normal size pods will also have varying degrees of hotness throughout the season. I think there are a lot of variables to consider(including why they are small)even with one type of pepper. Just my observations and it probably doesn't help you.

Oops, sorry, I'm not a culinary type...never mind! :D

Oops, sorry, I'm not a culinary type...never mind! :D

LOL, I think the mere fact you are on a cooking forum qualifies you as a 'culinary type', at least in my book ;)

I think that "smaller = more flavor" rule is true for most fruits and vegetables. (Hmm...is a chile a vegetable?)
I always look for slightly smaller tomatoes or melons or cucumbers because I find they have more flavor. I have no way of proving it; it just seems to hold true. In the case of peppers, it does seem to be true.

The stem thing seems a little bogus. I'd think that has more to do with how the pepper set on the vine. D#mn, now I'm curious. I may have to make something with poblanos soon and purposely buy them by stem angles to compare.

Steve, in my experience, red jalapenos, on the whole, aren't any milder than green ones, but they do have other subtle differneces in the flavor. They seem more fruity and sweeter while being as hot. IMO, they taste better roasted than the green one, which can be a little sharp.

Yes....ripeness contributes to hotness....red jalapenos in my experience are less hot than green....or else that red color makes me think "sweet" pepper.
Linda C

I've had jalapenos in the garden turn red after being on the bush awhile. With the Red Savina habenera it is an absolute truth that the red ones are hotter. The green ones are mild and tangy while the mature red ones could put a person in the hospital (no joke).

From what I can see on my cayenne plants in the kitchen the peppers with bent stems spring from an internode branch that faces upward. Curled stems come from the weight of the growing pepper bending it over. Straight stems are from hanging straight down from a branch. The same plant produces both types. I can't see the bent stem thing being true.

Size I can't tell you. I cook by taste and if it ain't hot enough I throw in another pepper. Habenera and cayenne peppers are much thinner skinned then jalapeno and serrenos. In that case lighter weight peppers would be hotter.

: )
lyra