I sometimes buy a jar of jalapenos in the oil and vinegar mixture. There are times when I will bite into one of these peppers and it's truly hot and then out of the same jar, I will get another pepper and bite into it and find out that this pepper is not at all hot or even mildly hot. Does pickling or soaking of peppers have anything to do with the the reduction of the taste in these peppers. I want to pickle some peppers like: habaneros, tobasco peppers etc.., but I want to know if I would lose the spice of the peppers, I want to keep them hottttttt. -R.T.

When buying fresh chilies, remember this: no two chilies have the same heat level, even if they were plucked from the same plant. Chilie bushes cross-pollinate freely, and that can result in variation - up to 35 different piquancy's in the fruits on a single stalk. The most reliable key to a chilies nature is its shape and size. Small narrow shouldered, deep colored chilies with pointed tips tend to be the hottest. Large chilies that are broad across the shoulders are typically milder. The heat of peppers is measured in scoville heat units. These are measured by testing peppers using high performance liquid chromatography. Simply, it's a relative heat index for chilies the jalapeno ranges from 2,500-10,000 but the habanero is at a scary 80,000-300,000 heat units. Chilies contain volatile oils that can really burn your skin, never tackle them bare handed. Always were gloves and wash gloves and hands thoroughly with soap and water after you're done.