A Pepper Primer for July 4th.
"Thus may the Fourth of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, from age to age, till time shall be no more." From the Virginia Gazette, July 1777
This July 4th marks the 227th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; it is, among other things, the official start of summer, with parades, large gatherings of friends and family, great summer food, and plenty of red, white and blue. The key ingredient to any Independence Day cookout is simplicity. There is something compelling about the smell of food cooking on a grill which seems to link us to the holiday's roots. Merchants can expect successful sales with minimum effort, as this holiday is one nearly every American - regardless of country of origin - celebrates.

Traditionally, Americans are fond of burgers, ribs, chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, chips, pies (especially apple), corn on the cob, lemonade, iced tea, iced cream and sliced tomatoes for their July 4th get-togethers. If your store has a deli and/or bakery, preparing some of these items in advance will only make for better sales. Running promotions on condiments, sides, and accessory items is a terrific idea, and also, make sure your store is decorated for the occasion! If possible, you should sell flags and other patriotic items; your customers will appreciate the convenience of not having to go to another store for these goods.

In addition to the abundant marketing opportunities grilling season provides, another notable marketing event this summer is Back to School. Haddon House carries a variety of products to help you with this promotion, like goodies for student lunches, easy-to-make meals, and ready-to-eat food items for the busy first few weeks of school.

July and August are warm and relaxed, which is often reason enough to celebrate with picnics and creative meals on the grill. Gardens begin to burst with color and flavor, often making for inventive cooking. One of the biggest harvests - and flavors - is peppers. Peppers are abundant in summer cooking: they're delicious stuffed, in pasta salads, in sauces, cooked alongside meat dishes, as garnishes, roasted, or simply eaten raw. Grocers generally have gorgeous, colorful pepper displays this time of year to better sell these summer beauties.

Pepper Basics
Peppers are capsicums, a family which contains mild bell peppers to the wickedly hot habanera. The heat level of peppers is indexed in Scoville units, a dilution-taste test named for chemist Wilbur Scoville. In the original test, Scoville blended pure ground peppers with a sugar-water solution and a panel of testers then sipped the concoctions, in increasingly diluted concentrations, until they reached the point at which the liquid no longer burned the mouth. A number was then assigned to each chile based on how much it needed to be diluted before you could taste no heat. The heat of peppers is measured in multiples of 100 units, from the bell pepper at zero Scoville units to the incendiary Habanera at 300,000 Scoville units. One part of pepper "heat" per 1,000,000 drops of water rates as only 1.5 Scoville Units. The substance that makes a pepper hot is capsaicin. Pure capsaicin rates over 15,000,000 Scoville Units.

In addition to variations in heat, peppers also vary in flavor, from rich to sweet. An important thing to remember when cooking with peppers is to combine them with other spices, so the finished dish has full-bodied flavor. Also, peppers are a good source of vitamins and fiber. In fact, there is some research to show that the heat in peppers helps to increase metabolism and burn calories. Some information about individual peppers:

Habanera: Adds more heat than flavor, generally; these painfully hot peppers are often used in many pepper sauces. Can have a hint of citrus flavor. Scoville units: 100,000 - 350,000*
Scotch Bonnet: Popular in the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaican cooking, this pepper is as hot as the habanera, but has a fruitier taste. Scoville units: 100,000 - 350,000*
Tien Tsin: Traditional for Asian cooking. Very hot, bright red 1"-2" pods. Sold fresh, dried, and jarred. Often used in spicy oils and vinegars. Great mixed with soy sauce, for dipping. Scoville units: 60,000*
Jalapeño: A popular pepper. Hotter than Cayenne peppers, but the heat leaves the mouth sooner. Because it's a heat-sensitive pepper, jalapeño should be added toward the end of cooking, to prevent the flavor and heat from dissipating. Scoville units: 55,000*
Cayenne: Cayenne is hot, but it's also well-known for it's flavor-enhancing qualities. In early American cookbooks, a dash of cayenne was added to many recipes, not for heat, but to improve overall flavor, which will enhance low-salt or low-fat dishes. Scoville units: 40,000*
Arbol: Slim, beautifully curved 3"-5" bright red Mexican peppers. Delicious mixed with barbecue sauce and in chili, and useful in oils and vinegars. Scoville units: 35,000*
Chipotle: These are ripe, red jalapenos, slowly wood smoked. Known as moritas in Mexico and Central America are versatile and necessary for many dishes. An addition of chipotle is wonderful in traditional Latin American meals, but also makes for zesty breadsticks, soups and salad dressings. Scoville units: 15,000*
Ancho: Also called Poblano. Large, juicy, purplish peppers, most commonly used in Mexican cooking. Backbone of dishes like tamales. Has a slightly raisin flavor. Perfect in rice and bean dishes, as well as flavored oils. Scoville units: 5,000*

A solid knowledge of the distinguishing features of peppers will not only help you sell your produce, but will also help you sell hot sauces and other merchandise. Peppers are the featured item in many ethnic meals, and more shoppers are experimenting with Asian and Latin American cooking, cuisines that rely heavily on peppers. Recipe cards for each type of pepper is a great way to target customers who may not be familiar with certain varieties of peppers.

*Scoville units vary from crop to crop.

Photos by Dena O'Hara.