Cooking 101: Pepperoncini vs. Banana Peppers

Pepperoncini peppers, also known as friggitelli or Golden Greeks (a slightly sweeter variety), are a sweet Italian pepper most associated with Tuscany. Pepperoncini have a slightly wrinkled skin and grow in a crimped, folded shape. If allowed, they can ripen to a red color. The sweet peppers’ flavors are greatly concentrated by pickling, making them an ideal vehicle for heat on a dish like pizza.

While they go by the name pepperoncini in the United States, they should not be confused with Italian peperoncini, a general term for hot and sweet chili peppers—such as Calabrian chilies.

Banana peppers, also known as yellow wax peppers or banana chilies, are a mild pepper that comes in shades of bright yellow to pale green. Banana peppers have smooth skin, and a long, even shape that resembles a banana. They’re most frequently pickled and sliced into banana pepper rings, or left whole and stuffed for antipasti.

Pepperoncini and banana peppers are both members of the chili pepper family (Capsicum annuum), that are rich in vitamin A and vitamin C. Both peppers are most commonly eaten after pickling.

The main difference between pepperoncini and banana peppers is their heat level. These lookalikes fall on very different spots on the Scoville scale, which measures pungency through the concentration of capsaicin, the compound responsible for the burning sensation that a particularly spicy pepper produces in your mucus membranes.

Pepperoncini clock in at 100–500 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), while banana peppers only measure 0–500 SHU.

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