Roland Foods Calabrian Chili Peppers in Vinegar, Specialty Imported Food, 17.5 Ounce, Pack of 1

This is great. The heat is perfect and leaves the perfect slow and low burn. I like them out of the jar with the seeds all soft and tasty but often the skin just doesn’t chew well … if you don’t like that. However, I mostly put them on a nice Italian dish that has a nice substance to it where the peppers land perfectly. I show this photo of a cauliflower crust spinach and artichoke pizza with tofu, the peppers, and a drizzle of green jalapeño sauce. Yum.

I fell in love with Calabrian peppers when I made a walnut pesto recipe that called for them. The flavor is complex, fruity, and a little bit smoky. The heat sneaks up on you, because it seems to hit your throat before your lips or tongue warn you what is coming, but there is a big load of flavor traveling with the spiciness.What I didn't love was paying almost $9 for less than 7 ounces of peppers in oil at my supermarket. So I tried Amazon.It turned out that prices weren't much better here unless I bought very large quantities. These Roland peppers were easily the best value -- but they were packed in vinegar. I was worried they wouldn't be a suitable replacement for the oil-packed peppers.After reading the comments, I decided to follow the advice to drain the peppers and repack them in oil. After a couple weeks in a cupboard, the peppers were even better than the oil-packed peppers from the market, because I used all olive oil instead of the blend of sunflower and olive oils in the market version.I usually dice them very finely so the heat and flavor are distributed through a dish. A favorite use is in pizza sauce for homemade pizza.A big bonus is the now-flavored oil that let's me easily add Calabrian pepper flavor to any dish that I think will benefit from it. I only have one teaspoon to clean up rather than a knife and cutting board.

This was not was I was looking for, I'm afraid. The peppers themselves are very hot, juicy, and vinegary. The taste when biting into one is slightly overpowering, and even baked, they still have a very strong vinegar flavor. Ones I've had before were salty, but not overpowering, with just enough heat. Not what I was looking for, but not the worst thing I've tasted.

Gave these a try after seeing a reference in a recipe. Have enjoyed my pickled garden jalapenos and have been on a pepper kick lately. But the jalapenos' flavor profile is one-dimensional when compared to these pickled Calabrian peppers! They are spicy but not terribly so and certainly not like red Chinese chilies. The vinegar adds a note of tartness that offsets the heat. I have used them chopped in chimichurri and arrabiata sauces, and whole in assorted pickle and olive trays. Everyone who has tried them (admittedly all pepper lovers) have been impressed and enjoyed them.

Likes: Beautiful rich colors of sinfully skinned reds and the oils hands so sensually wrapped around the peppers. As the peppers erect their Adonis fiery red flesh out of the bedding of soothing oil. I, so quietly say yes, then again Yes and finally shrillin YES!Dislikes: I must say I only bit once, no it was twice. IMMEDIATELY every cavity on my body pinched. All my external body parts crawled, then imploded as far into myself as they could. I sweated with such fever! My eyes and nose dripped. Yet nothing compared to the feeling of burning flames from the kiss of the devil's peppered kiss.Never again, no more will I ruin my dinner and incapacitate my mouth. Never again.

Problem is the texture, it's like leather.The flavor is great, and the heat is mild, less than a Hungarian Wax.Maybe I got a bad batch? I doubt it... if you look closely at the pic, you can "see" the texture.I have canned/pickled peppers since I was a kid helping my mom. Our peppers were/are crisp, 2-3 years after we processed them.My guess is these peppers were processed after they began to dry. Believe me when I say, you don't wanna do that!I will use them in a sauce or chili, something that I simmer for hours. Definitely not suitable for a quick sauce or fried 'taters 'n' onions!

Nice spice level. Smoky flavor. Devoured in a few short days….put it on everything. Cut into pieces, and put in eggs, on sandwiches, in curry, etc. just delicious.

Very nice chile’s. They are medium heat, based on Scoville ranking of 25-40K units, which is just above the Serrano. For comparison, the jalapeño is about 8k Scoville units. I drained them, discarded the vinegar- even though it would have made a nice marinade, I’d have no one to share the meal with as all my friends and family think black pepper is spicy. Alas, I’m alone in this love of spicy food. They’ve been marinating in this jar combined with a nice extra virgin olive oil (I didn’t buy anything special, just what I had in the pantry) for the past six weeks and finally opened it and drizzled it on some mozzarella, prosciutto, and bread and it is wonderful. I like spice so this was not overwhelming (or even a challenge) but for others, it will be quite spicy. Enjoy it.