Don't worry if your jalapenos are turning black! Most Jalapeños turn black often during their to natural ripening process. Most Jalapeño varieties mature from green to red, and during this time they often turn partially black or deep purple – this is totally normal. You may be worried that there is something wrong with your Jalapeño peppers, but it's common for them to turn partially dark or black as they ripening to red. Green to black to red is how they ripen!
Jalapeños peppers can be harvested at any stage, though they will develop more flavor as they ripen to their final red (or orange/yellow) colors. As you have probably noticed, the Jalapeños that you buy in the store will be green, as they are less perishable at this stage, but they still have great flavor and heat. Growing your own Jalapeños gives you the advantage of being able to let them ripen to their mature colors which give them even more flavor.
Ripening is the most common reason jalapeño pods turn black. Sometimes Jalapeños can turn black due to stress from factors like cold weather, blossom end rot, sun exposure, or nutrient deficiencies... but if the plant is healthy and the weather is good, it's most likely that the pepper is just going through it's normal ripening phase!
Did you know there are a lot of different varieties of Jalapeños? That's right, and we have not just one but ELEVEN different types of Jalapeño seeds!
This Jalapeño above has black on one side, but this is a totally normal pepper in it's ripening phase. Nothing to be alarmed by! Not all Jalapeños turn red, some will turn yellow, purple or orange! Check out all of our types of Jalapeño seeds!
Purple Jalapeños (shown above) are stunning – they start out in deep green and then ripen from striking dark purple (nearly black) before maturing to a rich & vibrant red. Many pods will be multi-color jewels with deep purple on one side and red on the other as they mature. This variety boasts thick, crisp walls that are perfect for adding a satisfying crunch in poppers, salads, sandwiches, and salsas.
The Jaloro Jalapeño, on the other hand, starts out a pale yellow and ripens to a deep golden orange – you won't see any black coloring on these golden jalapeños they ripen. See the different stages of maturity of these gold gems, above.
When you grow your own jalapeños, you should expect to have a lot to enjoy! If you're wondering what to do with them? Find our pickled pepper recipes for lots of ways to enjoy jalapenos, or try our Jalapeno Popper Dip, or our Jalapeno Poppers recipe.
Read our sister post: What I did with one million Jalapeño peppers
Be sure to grow all of our Jalapeño seed varieties for their speed, crunch and delicious flavors that can't be beat. F
