National Pepper Month

National Pepper Month timeline

1912

Scoville scale developed

Wilbur Scoville invented a way to measure the intensity of peppers.

1896

Stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers made their first appearance in a printed cookbook.

1600s

Pirates and Peppers

Real-life pirate Lionel Wafer wrote about bell peppers in a book about the Americas and the Caribbean.

1493

Columbus discovered...peppers

After visiting the Americas, Columbus brought peppers back home to Europe.

5000 BC

Peppers domesticated in Mexico

In the Tehuacán valley of Mexico, peppers became domesticated as a crop.

National Pepper Month FAQs

When is National Pepper Month?

National Pepper Month 2026 runs throughout November, offering a full 30 days to celebrate the diversity of peppers. It’s the perfect time to explore new flavors and culinary uses, from sweet to spicy.

How many types of peppers are there?

There are thousands of pepper varieties, ranging from sweet bell peppers to the intensely hot Carolina Reaper. Botanists estimate over 50,000 cultivars of the Capsicum genus exist, each with unique flavors and heat levels.

How popular are peppers in cooking?

Peppers are incredibly popular in cooking worldwide, serving as foundational ingredients in cuisines from Mexican and Indian to Thai and Italian. Their versatility allows them to be enjoyed raw, roasted, stuffed, or dried and ground into spices.

What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable when it comes to peppers?

Botanically, peppers are fruits because they develop from the flower’s ovary and contain seeds. This classification applies to all varieties, including bell peppers, jalapeños, and habaneros, placing them alongside tomatoes and cucumbers.

National Pepper Month Activities

Make your own hot sauce

You only need a few ingredients, and most recipes are fairly straightforward. Just stock up on some small glass bottles and start packaging your delicious concoction.

Take a pepper class

You're sure to learn about different methods of growing these tasty fruits as well as how to decode the notorious Scoville spice scale.

Make stuffed peppers

National Pepper Month is the perfect time to whip up a batch of tasty stuffed peppers. Want to spice things up a little? Get out of your comfort zone and try new variations.

4 Smokin' Hot Pepper Facts

Pricey summer peppers

Hot weather brings high prices. Peppers tend to be least expensive during the months of November-June.

Better when eaten raw

Cooking bell peppers destroys some of their key nutrients, so it's best to nibble away at them beforehand.

Hang those peppers!

Hanging peppers is a great way to get them to dry out, but in some cultures it's also believed they bring health and good luck.

Purple peppers?

We're familiar with red, yellow, orange, and green peppers, but bell peppers can also be black, brown, white, and purple.

Why We Love National Pepper Month

Peppers are easy to find

Most grocery stores carry at least a couple of different pepper varieties. Bell peppers and jalapeños are easy to find almost anywhere, but poblanos, habaneros, and serranos are also gaining a lot of popularity as well.

Bell peppers are healthy

They're packed full of vitamins A and C, and are widely known for boosting the immune system. They also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Peppers can be mild or spicy

Whether you love the burning sensation of biting into a habanero or prefer to simply garnish your salad with a green bell pepper, there are a ton of different varieties. Almost everybody can find some type of pepper that they enjoy. As for us, we'll take a jalapeño popper, please.