Habanero has an intense heat combined with tropical fruit and floral notes. Because it is extremely powerful, it should be handled with care — often just a small pinch or a tiny piece of the pepper is enough for an entire dish.

Savoury dishes and sauces: Excellent for authentic Latin American salsas and pico de gallo, game and beef marinades, spicy stews, as well as fish and seafood dishes.

Desserts and drinks: A small amount of Habanero adds a bold accent to dark chocolate, mango or pineapple chutneys, as well as spicy Mexican-style cocktails and homemade syrups.

Tip: Handle Habanero carefully when cooking — ideally while wearing gloves — and add it gradually. If you want to reduce the heat while keeping its fruity flavour, remove the seeds and, most importantly, carefully cut away the pale inner membranes before adding it to the dish.

“Habanero was an absolute discovery for me in the world of spicy flavours. People are often afraid of chilli heat, but the magic of Habanero lies in its unique flavour profile — first you notice beautiful citrus and mango notes, and only then does the pleasant, warming heat follow. At Pavāru māja, we enjoy using it to add character to sauces and marinades, and sometimes in more unexpected combinations — even desserts. Just a tiny amount of Habanero is enough to give a dish vibrancy, depth, and a completely different personality.” — Ēriks Dreibants, Chef

Our Habanero peppers come from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula — a region renowned worldwide for its close association with Habanero cultivation and exceptionally high-quality harvests. There, the peppers are grown and harvested by hand under the hot Mexican sun, which helps develop their characteristic concentration of aromatic compounds and intense flavour. Habanero peppers have a long history in the food traditions of the Maya and other ancient cultures of the region. Today, capsaicin — the compound responsible for their heat — is known to interact with the body’s sensory and metabolic processes and can also trigger the release of endorphins, contributing to the distinctive sensation many people associate with eating spicy food.