Perhaps the chief misconception about chili peppers is their "red-hot" reputation. Many are fiery hot, but many others are sweet, mild, or richly flavored. Their hotness is concentrated in the interior veins or ribs near the seed heart, not in the seeds as is commonly believed (the seeds taste extra hot because they are in close contact with the hot veins). If, when the pepper is cut open, the veins have a yellowish-orange color in that area, it usually indicates the pepper will be a potent one.
That the burning sensation that makes chile peppers so appealing to culinary thrill-seekers comes from capsaicin or more accurately a collection of compounds called capsaicinoids. These develop in the placenta or cross-ribs of the fruit, which is why that part of the chili pepper is the hottest. A single dominate gene transmits capsaicinoids. Bell peppers are just like jalapeno peppers and Serrano peppers but bell peppers taste bland instead of pungent because they lack that gene.
In 1912, a pharmacist named Scoville came up with a heat index for measuring the "heat" in a chili product, or scoring capsaicinoid content. This index was called the Scoville Units and is still used today. A more modern version used by many chile writers is called "the Official Chile Pepper Heat Scale" with a rating of zero to 10. Bell peppers rate a zero because they contain no capsaicinoid. At a 5 rating: jalapeno peppers...at a 6 rating serrano peppers...at a 8 rating cayenne peppers and tabasco peppers...and at a 9 rating chalet pin peppers or Thai hot peppers.
The spelling of the word "chili" is used here as it is used in Mexico. Because American spice companies label their ground chili blends "chili" you will encounter that spelling in recipes using the purchased ground spice.
More than 140 varieties of chilies peppers are grown in Mexico alone. Those that follow are most popular in the United States and used in most Mexican cooking recipes.
DID YOU KNOW....Cassaicin (Zostrix), a topical non-prescription cream, made from the seeds of hot chili peppers, is used to treat skin hypersensitivity resulting from "shingles" (Herpes Zoster). It is the only medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. (Article orginally published in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, November 1997).
USE CAUTION IN HANDLING AND STORING CHILE PEPPERS
When using fresh or dried chili peppers, wear gloves to protect your hands because the oils, capsaicin*, in the peppers can cause severe burns. Don't touch your face or eyes. If chilies do come in contact with your bare hands, wash thoroughly with soapy water. When grinding dried chilies, beware of the chili dust in the air, which will irritate eyes and throats.
*Capsaicin is the heat factor in chilies that is used medically to produce deep-heating rubs for treating sports injuries and arthritic therapies.
TO DRY YOUR OWN CHILE PEPPERS
Tie the stems onto a sturdy piece of twine, placing chilies close together and making the strand as long as you wish. Hang in a dry area with the air circulating freely around the strand. In several weeks, chilies lose their brillant hue, changing to a deep, glistening red; they will feel smooth and dry.
DESCRIPTION OF PEPPERS
BELL PEPPERS
Probably the most familiar pepper in the United States, the green and red bell peppers are squarish and fist-size. Green peppers turn red in the fall, becoming sweeter and milder, yet retaining their crisp, firm texture.
ANCHO PEPPERS
This chili looks and tastes very much like ordinary bell pepper but can be considerably more peppery at times. Tapered rather than square, it is firmer, less crisp, more waxy-looking. It turns bright red and sweetens up in the fall. When dry, it assumes a flat, round shape and wrinkles up like a prune.
CALIFORNIA GREEN CHILIES (ANAHEIM)
Fresh, these peppers are 5 to 8-inches long, 1-1/2 to 2-inches wide, tapering to a point, usually a bright, shiny green. The flavor ranges from mild and sweet to moderate hot. To use fresh peppers, peel the skin from the chilies. When using fresh or canned, taste for hotness - they can vary greatly from pepper to pepper.
CHILACA CHILES
Look and taste much like the guajullo and guayon chilies.
CHILE de ARBOL
Also known as the "Cola de Rata". Often dried, toasted, used to decorate Mexican dishes.
CHIPOTLE CHILES
Made from jalapenos that have been dried and smoked. Sold both dried and canned in adobo, or a rich smoky dark reddish-brown sauce.
FRESNO CHILI PEPPERS
Bright green, changing orange and red when fully matured. Fresno chilies have a conical shape - about 2 inches long and 1-inch in diameter at the stem end. They are often just labeled "hot chili peppers" when canned or bottled.
GUAJILLO CHILES
Smooth-skinned, brick or cranberry red chiles, a bit spicier than anchos and not as sweet. Because of their tangy brightness, they are often powdered over fruit or vegetables or added to soups and stews.
JALAPENO CHILI PEPPERS
These peppers have thicker flesh, darker green color, and more cylindrical shape than Fresno chilies; however, the heat level of the two varieties is about the same - HOT!! Canned and bottled peppers are sometimes labeled "hot peppers" with jalapeno as a subtitle. They are always available in sauce form as salsa jalapena, and pickled.
MULATO CHILES
Deep brown, longer and more tapered than the ancho, more pungent also. Often replaces the ancho in recipes.
PASILLA PEPPERS
The true pasilla pepper is a long, thin pepper 7 to 12 inches long by 1-inch in diameter. Pasillas turn dark green to dark brown as they mature.
PEQUIN CHILES
Tiny, dried red bullets of fiery heat, adding a unique flavor to many dishes. Crumble the dried pod and add.
PIMIENTOS
These heart-shaped chilies are purchased canned in the United States. The flesh is softer and a little sweeter than the common red bell pepper.
POBLANO CHILIES
Dark green, about the size of a bell pepper but tapered at one end, can be mild or hot. Often used in "Chile Rellenos".
SERRANO CHILES
A small 1-1/2-inch HOT pepper. The smaller they are, the more kick they have. Most often used in Pico de Gallo. Dynamite-hot is an understatement for these tiny 1-inch peppers. When new on the vine, they are rich, waxy green, changing to orange and red as they mature. They are also sold canned, pickled, or packed in oil. A great source of Vitamin C.
SMALL, WHOLE, RED DRIED HOT CHILE PEPPERS
Labeled this way on the supermarket spice shelves, many small tapered chilies about 1 to 2 inches long are sold dried, but there is no one varietal name that applies to all of them.
YELLOW CHILE PEPPERS
Many short conical-shaped yellow peppers with a waxy sheen go by this name - Sante Fe grande, caribe, banana pepper, Hungarian, Armenian way, floral gem, and gold spike. Probably the most familiar are the canned pickled wax peppers. Their flavor ranges from medium-hot to hot.
HABANERO PEPPERS
To date these are the HOTTEST chili peppers known to man - HOT! - HOT! - HOT!. USE EXTREME CAUTION when using. Marble-shaped chili peppers, ranges in color from unripe green to full ripe red.
