COLLEGE STATION, Texas — You might have seen the outrage recently on social media - claims that Texas A&M is to blame for modern jalapeños being not as spicy as they were in the past.
It’s all thanks to a report in D Magazine that was published last year but it just now making the rounds on the internet. It turns out that the changes to this Tex-Mex staple are all thanks to how the peppers are used.
The majority of the jalapeños grown are sent to processing plants where they are turned into everything from salsa to chips. And when it comes to processing foods, manufacturers are looking for consistency. That means it is easier to use a milder pepper and add the heat later. That way one batch of salsa can be turned into mild, medium and spicy varieties just by changing the dosage of pepper extract.
And that’s where Texas A&M comes in. About 20 years ago, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Weslaco developed something called the TAM mild jalapeño II. It was larger, virus resistant and free from dark spots. It was also - as the name would suggest - milder.
They proved popular and now make up most of the market. By the way - that agricultural experiment station now has an updated name: the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center.