The skin is smooth, taut, and glossy, ripening from dark green to red when mature. Red Jalapeno chile peppers have an earthy, vegetal, and sweet flavor mixed with a mild to moderate level of spice.
Red Jalapeno chile peppers are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as grilling, roasting, baking, stir-frying, and simmering. The mature peppers can be used as a substitute for green jalapeno chile peppers in recipes, and the pods can be sliced and stirred into dips, salsa, guacamole, and sauces.
Fresh peppers will keep up to one week when stored whole and unwashed in a paper bag in the refrigerator. The peppers can also be frozen for up to three months.