What are some differences between Indian and Mexican chili peppers in cooking?

Indian cuisine often attempts to blend a few of the six different tastes, which are also called Rasas – sweet, sour, salty, hot, bitter and astringent – into a single dish. As an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, we know that a way of accomplishing this is by using chilli peppers to achieve the desired result.
And although chilli peppers are used around the world in a lot of different cuisines, they have become a staple of Indian cooking. A large variety of chillies are used in hundreds of dishes, each representing a different level of flavour and heat, and they can be found in nearly all Indian recipes, from chutneys and curries to pickles and cold drinks.
Kashmiri Chilli Peppers
One of the chillies used in Indian food is the Kashmiri, which are easy to distinguish from others because of their long, deep red colour and wrinkled texture. If dried, the chilli looks even darker. Kashmiri is great to add a bright orange colour to dishes, as well as offering a low to mild level of heat, and it also has a distinctive flavour.
Green Chilli Peppers
These types of chilli peppers are usually macerated or puréed and added to chutneys or stews, although they can also be eaten raw, since they provide a strong, herbal flavour to the dish. This pepper can be added to hot oil to infuse it with heat and flavour, either whole or segmented, depending on the amount of heat you prefer.
Gundu Chilli Peppers
These chillies look like dried cherry tomatoes. They’re round and small, and with shiny skin, and they’re commonly used in recipes in the south of India, especially in sambar. They can also have quite a lot of heat.
Reshampatti Chilli Peppers
These short and broad chillies have thick skin and are of medium heat. Although it’s more popular on the west coast, it’s used for most types of food in India, including to make stuffed pickles. Its colour is usually dark maroon, although that doesn’t seep into the food, so it’s not the best choice if you want a lot of colour in your dish.
Chilli peppers can spice up any recipe, and if you’re curious to know how, why not check us out? Our menu is vast and it will surely leave you wanting more!

Mexican cooking has incorporated some Old World spices like cinnamon and cloves, but its heart is clearly in its native chiles, used in different combinations and ways in different dishes. These chiles don’t just add flavour, but also colour, like the rich deep red of anchos or the dark chocolaty red of pasillas. They also give texture to dishes because the skins of varieties like anchos contain pectin, the natural gelling agent that helps jams to set, which gives sauces based on these chiles a wonderful smoothness without the gluey texture of thickeners like cornflour.
To cook Mexican food these chiles are imperative, yet it is hard to make Indian cooks understand this. For us chiles are to be used for heat only, while other flavours are added with other spices. I am willing to bet that almost none of the restaurants here that serve rajma covered with cheese and served with corn chips and call it ‘Mexican’ food have any idea of these different types of chiles. The few places that have tried with fine dining with Mexican cusine —- like the Taj President’s El Mexicana in Mumbai — never last because we find the food too similar to Indian food and the subtleties of the chiles, instead of being appreciated for themselves, are just seen as further sign of its shortcomings.
A few importers are now bringing in authentic Mexican chiles, along with readymade salsas and ingredients like canned tomatillos, tart green fruit that look like tomatoes, but add a very distinctive acid bite to Mexican salsas. Recently for a party I made five different salsas, each from a different chile, and they were a huge hit, with everyone exclaiming at the difference in flavours. Watching my friends gobble down Indian khakras loaded with Mexican salsas made me wonder if there might be some hope for Mexican chiles in India after all.

Deep red in color and has an intense aroma but is not very hot. This red chili originated from Karnataka.
- Dhani (bird’s eye chili) – This is an intensely hot and prickly-tasted type of chili coming from Manipur.
As you see, South Indian cuisine has an everlasting bond with chili. In fact, they are often obsessed with the color, aroma, and spiciness they add to the food. In South India, Guntur is the common and most used variety of red chili. This type gives out a similar flavor to Arbol Chili or cayenne peppers. At the same time, Byagadi gives a similar taste to paprika.
In addition to these red chilies, Indians also use green chili, which has a slightly different taste, aroma, and green in color. Green chilies are usually used raw in food or included in curry pastes and chutneys they make. However, they use red chili as dried, whole, crushed, or powdered. Just see if you come across any of these popular South Indian recipes made using chili:
- Red Chili Coconut Chutney
- South Indian Chili Chicken
- Authentic South Indian Biryani
- Chettinad Egg Curry
- Dry Red Chili and Tomato Chutney
03 – Turmeric (Haldi/ Manjal)
Turmeric is a fundamental ingredient in South Indian cuisine. In North India, turmeric is known as “Haldi,” and in the South, it is popularly known as “Manjal ”. Mainly there are two types of turmeric used in India.
The ordinary turmeric we all know is basically used as a flavor and a color enhancer in cooking. While, the other type, “Kasturi Manjal ”, designated by the scientific term Curcuma aromatica, is widely employed as an Ayurvedic, herbal, or beauty constituent in South India.
Moreover, in southern India, the dried turmeric rhizome is usually worn in an ornament as camouflage against evil. And they believe it has the ability to bring them good fortune and contains healing properties. It has a pleasant earthy fragrance, and raw turmeric has a trace of bitter and spicy taste.
South Indians often use it in its powdered form or as a paste to include in foods. Most of the time, they add it in with vegetables and lentils to give those dishes a bright golden tint and taste.

Large fleshy poblanos become anchos when dried, but some become a slightly different dried chile called a mulato. Long chilacle chiles become dramatically dark dried pasilla or negro chiles, while mirasols become large smooth dried guajillo chiles.
All these chiles might seem to be a link with India, but in fact their variety shows up the difference. We grow and use many kinds of chiles , but in practice most markets stock only around three kinds. There will be a mild red one used for colouring, a larger, hotter one for pickles and then a dynamite one which is only used to add heat to food. Mexican chiles can certainly match ours for heat. For a truly incendiary experience try the chipotles cooked in vinegary adobo sauce and canned under brand names like La Morena which I’ve found in Indian shops.
Most hot Indian chillies explode on first contact and leave your lips and tongue burning, but chipotles wait till you swallow and then sear their way up the back of your mouth and through your palate and nose until you are gasping in agony. Yet even as you are doing this, if you can stop gasping for a second, you will note interesting side notes that you rarely seem to note with Indian chiles. Chipotles have a woody, smoky, even slightly sweet quality that lingers long after the first heat has faded.
But the real impact of these flavours is best felt with milder chiles where the heat is not hogging centre stage. Anchos, the wide, heart shaped dried poblanos have wonderfully fruity flavours. Cascabels, the round chiles filled w i t h seeds that rattle when you shake them (cascabel means a child’s rattle) have a rich nutty flavour. Guajillos are earthy, with slightly metallic overtones. But perhaps the most amazing for me are the long dark pasillas, which have a sharp citrusy note that softens in cooking to a wonderfully lingering winey taste. Pasillas have one of those flavours that you wonder if you really like it, until suddenly you realise that you don’t just like, but are totally hooked on it!
What you realise when you use them in Mexican recipes is that these chiles take the role of the many spices of Indian cooking.

Chili powder is hot and is used all around the world to spice up food and stimulate taste buds; it is also used to give special color and aroma to cuisines. Chili or Chili pepper is native to Central America and is used in Mexican cuisines since centuries. Chili plant is perennial small shrub that grows up to a meter height, it bears white flowers and its fruits can be fleshy, mild, Mexican bell peppers or finger like green in color commonly grown all over India. Fruit is either plucked when green or is allowed to dry, it is either used fresh as green chili or is dried and grounded to make powder. When dried, green chili turns into red, however chili is found in many attractive colors like yellow, mustard and black.
Culinary Uses of Chili Powder
Red Chili powder or pepper can be used in any cuisine except sweets to enhance taste and increase heat. Chili in powdered form is used with curd, yoghurt, sprinkled over fried potato dishes etc.
Chili sauces are excellent support to enhance taste and heat of the food, take habanoras or Serrano chili, add two tablespoons of Lime juice and one tablespoon of Orange juice mince together and serve. It works as smacking taste enhancer.
Add Chili powder to soups to enhance its taste and nutritional value, one very tasty cuisine is barley and bean soup. Use Olive oil to cook and add garlic and Red Chili powder, stir to let them combine evenly and add barley, beans and water to make a delicious and nutritious soup.
Red chili powder can add extra spice and heat to tomato sauce. Add some Chili powder to minced tomatoes and make sauce for improved taste.
Chili paste will help a lot while cooking and it can be prepared quite easily. Take dried red chilies and break them into pieces, boil for 30 minutes with water to make a paste. This paste stays fresh for 10 days in a refrigerator and can be topped on crackers, fried potatoes, vegetables, gravies and as meat rub.
Chili infused oil are endlessly useful, it can be used for sautÃ�Â©ing food, salad dressing, with vegetable marinades and meat. Cooking in Chili infused oil is easiest way to enhance taste of food.
Chili infused Vinegar is smacking substitute for simple Vinegar; it can be used for pickling, dressing, vegetable topper and with bread.

Serrano chillies are frequently used to flavor salsas or as a garnish when served pickled.
The dried version of the fresh chilaca pepper, known as pasilla (literally, “small raisin”), acquired its name from the dark and wrinkled skin that develops due to dryness. It’s frequently used in sauces to go with meat or fish due to its rich, sweet flavor. The wonderful Oaxacan pasilla, which is mildly smoked, can serve as the foundation for mole.
The jalapeno is without a doubt a national and international favorite, making up around 30% of Mexico’s production of chili. This is most likely because of its adaptability: jalapenos can be stuffed, pickled, smoked, fried, or even jellied. They’re usually served whole and mildly grilled as a great street taco side, or pickled and chopped over nachos.
Unripe green habaneros change color as they ripen. Orange and red ones are common habaneros. However, white, pink, and brown are also available. Due to its extreme heat, this chile is frequently used in most Mexican cuisine. Be extremely cautious when preparing them!
At Benny’s Tacos, we have a lot of expertise using these and other Mexican spices and peppers. We can change the heat of your dish to your preferred level. Visit us today if you’re looking for traditional Mexican food! We take pride in providing you with fresh Mexican meals.

Black Pepper: Before the introduction of chilies to India, black pepper was relied upon to provide Indian food with its bite. Native to India, it's still a staple in Indian cuisine, and you'll find it in most savory dishes.
Cayenne: Use cayenne to add warmth and the color of fire to any savory Indian dish or spice blend. You may see it listed as red chili powder blend in Indian recipes. Use it sparingly at first! Place a shaker of cayenne on the table for those who like to pump up the heat in their meals.
Chilies: These pungent peppers are used to enliven meats, vegetables, pulses (peas, beans, and lentils), and dressings. They're found in curries, especially in South India. You'll want to experiment with different varieties, for different effects.
Cilantro: Used both as a garnish and flavoring in Indian foods, some say cilantro is an acquired taste. If so, Indian cuisine can coax you. You'll find it in salads, sauces, soups, and many other dishes. Its flavor is potent, but it diminishes some with cooking.
Cinnamon: Delicious in coconut milk and with fruits and other beverages and desserts, cinnamon is also used to add flavor and aroma to meat and rice dishes and chutneys. Cinnamon is a key ingredient in the Indian spice blend Garam Masala. When using whole cinnamon sticks in your Indian recipe, be sure to remove them before serving.
Cloves: Indian cooks often use whole cloves for flavor and aroma, with savory foods like meat, and with sweets, too. Many recipes call for whole rather than ground cloves; remember to remove the whole cloves before serving your dish. Indians also use roasted and ground cloves, and they suck on whole cloves to freshen the breath.
Coriander: Indian cooks use coriander to add sweetness to recipes, especially in Southern India. You'll find its cooling, slightly lemony taste in chicken, egg, and meat dishes, as well as desserts.
Cumin: A staple in North India, cumin is used for its strong flavor; it often plays against the heat of chilies. Use ground cumin or fry the whole seeds in oil. They're also often roasted and ground.

These chilies are typically used in Indian and Pakistan. They are similar in appearance to Scotch bonnet peppers. these peppers are very hot. Use judiciously. 55,000 to 65,000 scoville units.
These peppers are the work horse of the Mexican kitchen. They can be a little spicy but not too hot. They are very rich and smoky. These chillies are readily available in Latin markets and are a good choice for your chili making requirements. The best way to use these peppers is to soak them in boiling water, remove from the heat and let them soak for a hour or so. Remove the stems and seeds and process the skins in a blender or food processor, then run the pulp through a strainer. You will get some beautiful pulp free red sauce that you may adapt for different dishes. 6,000 scoville units.
Tien Tsin Peppers:
These peppers are also traditionally used in Asian cooing and are very hot. You can add whole to soup or any stir fry dish where you want a spicy flavor. They may also be used to make Asian chili oil. Just heat 2 tbs of peanut oil. When very hot add about 10 peppers, fry until brown. (3 to 5 minutes) Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of peanut oil. Let cool, then place in an air tight jar. If you like really spicy oil leave the peppers in the oil. This oil is great drizzled or mixed with soy sauce to make a hot dipping sauce. Use 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 tbs of chili oil, 1 clove garlic minced and 1 tsp ginger. Mix well and dip. 60,000 scoville units.
In Mexico alone there are over 100 varieties. The hottest peppers are the Habanero or Scotch bonnet, handle these with care and last but not least is the Indian Ghost pepper. If I were you I wouldn’t even mess with this as its at least 20 times hotter than the habanero. Why do you think they call it Ghost?

All about the Pepper
There are many different types of peppers used for Mexican Recipes. See list of different types of peppers, chiles from around the world. Substituting one type of pepper for another can be done in some recipes. Certain peppers can create a dish that is way to spicy or hot for some people. Always check with your guests or family first about whether they can tolerate hot foods.
Searching Spicy Food Destinations Around the World
By Chen Fen
(1) Hot Mexico
Mexico is the birthplace of peppers. About half of peppers around the world are grown in Mexico in all kinds of variety, such as red, yellow, blue and green. Mexico is not only the No.1 chili country in the world, but also it owns the second hottest peppers in the world. There are more than 100 kinds of chilies with different names, fresh or dried. There are also numerous processing methods and they are used for bacon, soup, barbecue, salads, sweets, drinks and everything you can imagine.
Authentic Mexican food are mainly made of peppers and tomatoes, with the taste of sweet, spicy and sour. Nearly 90% of the sauces are made of peppers and tomatoes.
Recommendation: Cholula Hot Sauce
Cholula hot sauce is one of the most addictive sauce in the world and it is a major brand in Mexico. The main ingredients are red peppers and various spices. Most of the Mexican food are matched with cholula hot sauce and then become popular around world.
(2) Spicy Argentina
Argentineans mainly grill beef and they enjoy it. Whether in the capital Buenos Aires, or in small towns of mainland, rotisseries can be seen everywhere. Many homes are equipped with stoves or barbecue grills, and even in rural areas, some parks or forests provide you with barbecues.Vivid black or brown beef samples stands at the door of large-scale barbecue shops in the downtown area. Inside large French windows, you can see a few pounds of beef piled up around flowers, barbecue chef wearing a "Gauchos" clothing: black hat, doublet and leg embroidered breeches, a red scarf tied around the neck. Some shops put ovens at prominent positions so that customers can better enjoy the food while listening to barbecue sound and looking at red charcoal fire.
When eating toast beef, you can choose different seasonings according to your own taste.

A 2015 study at the Indian Institute of Technology in Jodhpur investigated 2,500 recipes from regions including Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, and South India. They discovered that the recipes were negatively paired which was exacerbated by the addition of spices like garam masala and tamarind.
But Page points to the fact that the flavour theory is really just a way for scientists to try to understand what makes certain foods pop, rather than an affront to Indian chefs.
“Bolder cuisines that feature loud-flavoured ingredients are always trickier to manoeuvre, for instance Mexican and Thai, which feature the use of chilies and can sometimes get hot-hot-hot. Thai cuisine balances fresh chiles with aromatic ingredients, while Mexican cuisine coaxes an astonishing range of flavours through using both fresh and dried chilies,” she explains.
“But when the execution is right, the complexity of Indian, Mexican and Thai cuisine is astonishingly appealing.”

Jalapeno pepper varieties (Capsicum annuum longum group) originated in Mexico where the peppers were used for religious ceremonies and to spice up food. Most jalapeno peppers rate 3,500 to 8,000 units on the Scoville scale, which measures hotness in peppers. Bell peppers place 0 units on the scale, while habanero peppers rate at 60,000 units. Capsaicin, a chemical compound found in peppers, determines the heat of a pepper. Remove the seeds and ribs to cool off the peppers. Different varieties of jalapeno peppers offer a variety of hot culinary experiences.
Mild jalapeno peppers put just a little spice into the food it is cooked with. The mildest jalapeno pepper is the Senorita Jalapeno, which is only 1/10th as hot as a normal jalapeno. This pepper is rated at 400 units on the Scoville scale. Commercially, Senorita is used in burritos, tamales and for cream cheese-filled fried jalapenos. When the Senorita pepper is smoked, it is called a chipotle chili. Another mild jalapeno is Tam Mild Jalapeno 2, which rates at 1,000 units. This variety produces 3-inch-long peppers that are crack resistant. The plant is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, tobacco etch virus, pepper mottle virus and potato virus Y.
For equal amounts of heat and flavor, try a variety of jalapeno pepper considered to be medium on the hotness scale. NuMex Heritage Big Jim jalapeno pepper variety produces a 9-inch-long pepper with a Scoville rating of 2,000 to 4,000 units. This variety spawned one of the largest chili peppers grown, which measured more than 12 inches long. NuMex Big Jim, which was the original variety, produces large peppers, but the hotness level of the pepper depends on where the pepper is located on the plant. The lower branches grow hotter peppers. NuMex Espanola Improved is an early maturing variety of medium hotness with 5- to 6-inch-long peppers.
Hot jalapeno peppers commonly make your eyes water and nose run as part of the reaction to the capsaicin in the pepper. Early Jalapeno is a variety that matures two weeks before the other jalapeno varieties.

I’ve always been fascinated at the parallels between classic Indian cuisine and regional Mexican. Onion, garlic, cumin, chilie, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, tomatoes… they all speak Spanish and Hindi. The similarities also involve preparation techniques: the roasting of spices, the layering of ingredients in a sauce. Aloo Channa cooked with onions and tomatoes is typical Northern Indian. The guajillos, corn, and chocolate are purely Mexican. Most of the labor goes into the guajillo sauce, which is cooked in a way very similar to curry pastes. I’d also guess that this would work with chunks of cooked birdie substituting for the potatoes.
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cubed
1 small sweet onion (Maui, Vidalia, Walla-Walla)
1-1/2 cup Guajillo sauce (see below)
1-2 tbs sweet Mexican chocolate, crumbled (Abuelita is a common brand)
1-2/3 c cooked garbanzo beans
2 potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold or red waxy), boiled
1 c corn kernels
2-3 tbs chopped cilantro
To a hot saute pan, add the olive oil and onions. Cook, stirring fequently, until onions are medium-light brown. Then add the tomato and continue stirring and cooking until they wilt and brown slightly. Stir in the guajillo sauce, bring to a simmer. Then add the chocolate, and stir until it is well-dispersed. Add the vegetables, then simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes. Adjust salt, remove from heat, and stir in cilantro.
Garnish with strips of roasted green chile and cilantro leaves. Serve with rice and home-made tortillas.
Guajillo Sauce – Taken from “Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen”, a great cookbook.
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 oz dried guajillos
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
3-1/2 c stock
1-1/2 tbs olive oil
On a griddle, roast the garlic cloves on all sides until they are soft and there are black spots on the skin. Put aside.

COMMON USES OF POBLANO PEPPERS
In preparation, they are commonly dried, coated and fried, stuffed, or used in mole sauces. Also, they are often roasted and peeled to remove the waxy texture, and preserved by canning or freezing. They are also dried and sold as Ancho Peppers, which are also extremely popular and form the base for many sauces and other recipes.
The poblano pepper is a popular Mexican chili pepper, very dark green in color, ripening to dark red or brown. They are mild, large and are heart-shaped. Learn all about them here.
Scoville Heat Units: 1,000 – 2,000
They are mild peppers, quite large and are somewhat heart-shaped. Their skins/walls are somewhat thick, making them perfect for stuffing as they’ll hold up in the oven quite nicely. They are often roasted and peeled when cooking with them, or dried. When dried, they are called ancho chilis.
Poblanos originated in Puebla, Mexico. They are one of the most popular peppers grown there. The poblano plant is multi-stemmed and can reach up to 25 inches high. The pods grow 3-6 inches long and 2-3 inches wide.
Info from https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/sweet-mild-chili-peppers/poblano-chili-peppers/

Poblano Peppers are a mild hot pepper. They are picked green and larger than a jalapeño but smaller than a bell pepper. They are most commonly know as the pepper in Chile Rellenos (stuffed peppers with cheese filling and egg batter) They are also used in mole sauces. While considered a milder pepper they can still be hot. Scoop out the seeds and ribbing if you do not like spicy food.

Ancho means ‘wide’ and is one of the largest chiles. They are mild, sweet, with hints of raisin and plum. It is one of the most commonly used chiles in Mexico and is a basic ingredient in countless soups, moles, and sauces. The ancho, along with the mulato and pasilla, forms the “holy trinity” of chiles used to make traditional mole sauces. Ancho chile is 1000‐2000 SCO units.
How to use ancho chile
When cooking with ancho chile peppers, it is essential to understand that although they have moderately mild heat, they still have a kick. On the Scoville Heat Units, the ancho peppers measure between 1,000 and 2,000 compared to a bell pepper which measures 0 and the jalapeño which measures 5,000. You know where you stand with the ancho pepper, and how much to use. The ancho peppers are normally re-hydrated before use. Place them in hot water for up to 30 minutes, and they are ready to use. Make sure that you seed and stem them first, then they are ready to season sauces, stews, soups, salsa, and any food that you want to add some spice to. Learning how to use ancho chile is as easy as adding any other spices to your food when you want a mild to moderate heat content.
Other uses for ancho peppers
When someone asks what ancho chile peppers are, a good answer would be that they are the seasonings used for chili powder that gives chili that awesome flavor. The peppers are ground while they are still dried to make the chili powder, and can be used in many other recipes besides chili. The southwest region of the United States is not the only people who enjoy spicy foods often prepared in Mexican cuisine. The ancho peppers have made their way into the flavoring of foods that are often used in many other cultures.
Try ours today.

or chile negro, is one of the most distinctive of all the peppers. Its
rich brown color portends it earthy chocolatey flavor. They're
called chilaca when fresh and pasilla or chile negro when smoked or dried.
These are our favorite peppers for cooking. They have an unmistakable flavor unlike any other pepper. Pasilla is one of the three peppers used in mole (MOH-lay) sauce, the famous Mexican sauce that can
take days to prepare. The different regions of Mexico all have their own
mole recipes, but the moles from Oaxaca are the most well known. Most
include raisens, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, various nuts
and seeds, tortillas, pasilla, guajillo and poblano chiles, and chocolate!

Mexican chiles play a significant role in Mexican culture and are used in a staggering diversity of dishes all around the nation. You can find Mexican chilies in practically all of the meals, no matter where you go in Mexico.
In fact, we would say that the most important component of real Mexican cuisine is Mexican chilies. Do you want to learn about the amazing world of Mexican chilies? Let’s learn about the top types of Mexican chilies.
What exactly are chillies?
Whether you refer to them as chillies, peppers, or chiles, you are simply talking about the fruit of a plant called a capsicum, which is a member of the wider Solanaceae family, generally known as nightshades. Sure, the chilli you are holding is a relative of aubergines, tomatoes, and potatoes.
Here are the common Mexican chillies you should learn about:
The ancho chili is basically a dried poblano pepper. If a once-large, vibrant green chile is allowed to mature and then dried for a few days, it shrinks and turns a dark reddish-brown color (sometimes almost black). This Mexican pepper is able to acquire a delectably sweet, fruity flavor due to the late picking and drying-out process. They are ideal for chopping and using as the foundation for a tasty mole, which is a sweet-spicy sauce made with fruit, nuts, chocolate, and spices. You can also use it to make an enchilada salsa.
The poblano, a sizable green chili with Puebla State origins, is frequently used to make chile rellenos, which are chiles filled with cheese and meat and occasionally served with a hot tomato-based sauce. Poblano chilies are interesting since you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Although most are rather moderate, occasionally you can encounter some true eye-waterers, so take precautions when using them!
The Serrano pepper, which is native to Hidalgo and Puebla, is a meaty green chili. With a length of between 3cm and 10cm, it is frequently mistaken for a jalapeo. Although the amount of spice they contain can vary greatly depending on how they are prepared and how soon they are chosen (some can even turn yellow, red, brown, or orange if overripe), they are generally thought to have a pleasant medium heat.

Mexican food has a track record for being exceptionally hot, but there are many different flavors and spices used in it that
aren’t all hot. Subtle flavors can be discovered in many dishes. Chiles are native to Mexico, where they have actually been taken in for a very long time. Mexico uses the best variety, and they are used for their flavors as well as their heat. Chili pepper is often contributed to fresh fruit and sweets, and hot sauce is usually included if chile pepper is absent from a mouthwatering dish or treat. Mexico is renowned for its street markets, where you can discover a wide range of fantastical items. Every street market has a different food section that showcases regional food. You need to eat at a street market if you ever take a trip to this nation if you dont, you will regret it.

Chili peppers, a spicy fruit featured in cuisines around the world, were used in Mexico long before going global, as was the agave-derived distilled drink tequila. This week, the Museum’s Adventures in the Global Kitchen series presents Tequila and Chilies, which will include a conversation with Juan Carlos Aguirre, the executive director of Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders. Aguirre, who will be providing samplings of chili-based dishes from across Mexico alongside tequila from Richard Sandoval Restaurants, recently offered a quick history lesson about the ubiquitous chili pepper.
How long has the chili pepper been an integral ingredient in Mexican cooking?
Chili peppers have been used in Mexican cuisine for thousands of years. They were one of the first plants in the region to be “domesticated.”
How did the chili pepper spread throughout the world?
Chili peppers are originally from the Americas and were incorporated into different cuisines around world after the continent was discovered by Europeans. The Philippines and Mexico were once part of the Spanish Empire, and the chili pepper was exported from Mexico to the Philippines and then all over Asia. So its use in Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, and other Asian cuisines actually comes from the Americas.
What’s one of the more surprising ways in which chili peppers have been used?
Before Mexico was conquered, chocolate was the drink of Aztec royalty, and the chocolate had chili pepper in it. Europeans took the chocolate to Europe and added milk and other ingredients to make it sweet.
What is the mission of your organization, Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders?
The organization was founded 12 years ago to celebrate and preserve Mexican traditions and pass them on to a new generation. We do different workshops, crafts, music, visual arts, and culinary arts. The idea is that through the arts, people will learn about Mexico in a more authentic way.

Indian people eat spicy foods because, it is in our culture. India is always known as ‘Land of Spices’ and since long time, lots of spices have been incorporated into our regional delicacies.
Was Indian food always spicy?
Indian food was always spicy including chilli-spice as well as flavor and aromatic spices. Tropical regions of the world natively provides the right climate for spices to grow. … So hot spicy peppers are natively part of Indian vegetation way way before Europeans discovered them and spread around the world.
Do only humans eat spicy food?
A recent study found that these tree shrews are the only mammal aside from humans known to deliberately seek out spicy foods. Researchers in China found a mutation in the species’ ion channel receptor, TRPV1, that makes it less sensitive to capsaicin, the “hot” chemical in chili peppers.
Can spicy food affect your mood?
Outside of a long list of ways spicy food may promote good health, Self found that recipes containing plenty of hot spices can actually promote mental wellness. Hormones such as serotonin may reduce depression or stress, and eating spicy food boosts the body’s natural production of these beneficial substances.
What does it mean if I like spicy food?
When you eat foods with capsaicin, like chili peppers, certain receptors in your mouth pop off, and that tricks your brain into thinking that your mouth is on fire. As part of your response to this stress, your body will produce endorphins, to help stem the pain of these transmissions.
Is Indian food spicier than Korean?
Indian food is very spice forward, and often uses chilis as well. They tend to use fresh ingredients blended with many different spices mixed together, and cooked to get rid of the raw spice flavor. Korean food, on the other hand, is usually is spicy due to their use of chilis, and less of spice.
What is the most spicy Indian food?
The Top 5 Spiciest Indian Dishes
- #1 Pork Vindaloo. Vindaloo originates from Goa, India. …
- #2 Phaal Curry. Phaal is an Indian curry dish which originated in Indian restaurants in Birmingham, UK, and is not to be confused with the char-grilled, gravy-less, finger food phall from Bangalore. …
- #3 Laal Maas. …
- #4 Chicken Chettinad.

A spicy meal always makes pepper and spice lovers feel good! Scientists are beginning to suspect that a natural high is produced similar to the one after intense exercise. The euphoria is a result of the brain inducing the secretion of endorphins. Chiles contain more vitamin C than nearly any other fruit or vegetable. Another quality of spices and peppers is that they preserve the shelf-life of many types of foods.
To not confuse pod peppers from other types of peppers, the Mexican word “chile” will be used, though it also is a type of pod pepper. The American plural is spelled “Chillies”, but in Mexico it is “chiles”. Mexicans do not add the word “pepper” after the word “chile” or after the variety (e.g. jalapeno).
Hot or Not?
There are basically two classes of peppers; capsicum and non-capsicum, or pod and berry peppers. Capsicum peppers are pod peppers, and vary in size, shape and degree of hotness or amount of capsaicin, with the hottest having the greatest amount. It is these chiles that the Pepper Lovers Club members are so fascinated with. Capsaicin is derived from the Greek word “to bite”.
There are five domesticated varieties: Annuum, Frutescens, Chinese, Pubescens, and Baccatum. There are many undomesticated varieties. Non-capsicum peppers are berry peppers and are unrelated to the capsicum pepper.
Put out the Fire!
Capsaicin is the chemical that ignites the fire. Over 80% of the heat in the chile is contained in its veins, placenta and adjoining seeds. This is an oily substance, therefore, it is not water soluble (ergo: ice-water will not wash away any pain). However, as long as you hold your hands under cool running water, the pain is relieved somewhat, but returns once the water stops. Using water or other clear liquids such as soda or lager beer has been likened to putting out a fire with lighter fluid as it only assists in spreading the capsaicin.

Organic Chipotle Chili Pepper 10K H.U.
Like other chili peppers, chipotle chilis come from the Capsicum annuum species and Solanaceae (nightshade) family. It is believed that the Aztecs in northern Mexico were the first to smoke jalapeños.
Chipotle powder’s distinctive earthy and smoky flavor is a popular addition to BBQ rubs, sauces, and salsas. It can also be used to spice up potato salad, beans, and condiments.
Flavor profile & uses
Chipotle powder is earthy, and has a mild to medium spiciness with a distinctive smoky flavor. Chipotle Pepper Powder can be used in a wide variety of recipes, and is often a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex dishes.
• It can be used in barbecue rubs or sauces to give it that smoky flavor, which can be rubbed or brushed onto steaks, chops, chicken, and other cuts of meat that will go on the grill.
• Often used as the main pepper for adobo and salsa recipes.
• It is sometimes added to condiments such as mayonnaise or ketchup to spice them up.
• It offers a spicy kick to potato salads, and is stunning when added to slow-cooked pinto beans that will cook down to refried beans.
• Some people even enjoy balancing sweet and spicy flavors in desserts, and a chocolate brownie or cupcakes could easily benefit from the addition of a little chipotle powder.
How is the heat determined for Cayenne & Chili Peppers?
The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat of the cayenne and chili peppers, as reported in Scoville heat units (S.H.U. or H.U.), due to the capsaicin concentration. The substances that give the peppers their intensity when ingested are capsaicin and the related compounds known as capsaicinoids. The greater amount of these compounds there are in the chili, the hotter it is.
Capsicum, red pepper, hot pepper
Excessive dose may cause gastrointenstinal irritation or heartburn, or exacerbate gastroesophageal reflux. Cayenne preparations irritate the mucous membranes and injured or broken skin.
California Proposition 65
Consuming this product can expose you to lead, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.

It was a tasty news morsel ten years ago: “Tezpur Chili hottest in the world.” Four Indian scientists had found a chili pepper in northeast India with a rating of 855,000 Scoville units — a forest fire of piquancy compared to the feeble flame of the nearest contender, the Mexican Red Savina habanero (a mere 577,000 Scoville units). The Scoville rating measures the presence of capsaicin, a compound that binds with pain receptors ordinarily triggered by heat and abrasion.
The news was delicious, and not just as a pick-me-up for a nation still hungry for global recognition. It seemed, oddly enough, like redress for a still-smarting historical wrong. For it was the colonial invasion of chili peppers — capsicum chilis from South America — that upstaged Indian black pepper (Piper nigrum), once the hottest commodity on the planet and the crown jewel of the spice trade.
We Indians had welcomed chilis graciously, of course. In time we became the world’s largest producers — and indeed, consumers — of what is technically a fruit. And now, at last, Indian nature and five hundred years of nurture had won out, in the form of a local cultivar, Capsicum frutescens var. Nagahari, aka Tezpur chili. The samples in question came from Tezpur, in the state of Assam (felicitously, Tezpur can be translated as “Spicyhot Town”), but the variety was better known locally by a variety of terms denoting fear and respect: Naga Jolokia (serpent chili),_ Bhut Jolokia (ghost chili) and _Bih Jolokia (poison chili) in Assamese, Raja Mirch (king pepper) in Hindi, Pasa Kala (chief chili) in Mishmi. At any rate, the research was published — a chili paper, as it were — in the Indian journal Current Science, along with diagrams showing the Tezpur chili’s capsaicin readings going off the charts.
These findings were met by consternation and disbelief, especially among the small but vociferous tribe of chiliheads, aficionados driven as much by masochistic machismo as by culinary concerns, most of whom reside in the United States and England.

Also indexed as: Ancho Peppers
Preparation, uses, and tips
The seeds and membranes in chile peppers contain most of the capsaicin, the compound that
lends them their mouth-searing qualities. To reduce the chile’s heat, remove its seeds
and veins. Fresh poblano chiles should be peeled before using. Traditional recipes recommend
searing the peppers over a gas flame, or broiling them in the oven until the skins are
blackened. Cool in a sealed plastic bag or foil and then remove the skins. These mild chiles,
a staple of Mexican cuisine, are most often served stuffed or as a component of mole
Poblanos are among the mildest chile peppers, and are also known as pablano peppers; they
are sometimes mislabeled as pasilla peppers. Poblano peppers are black-green when immature and
turn dark red with age. After drying, poblanos may be dark red (ancho chile) or brown (mulato
chile). These thick-skinned peppers range between 3 and 5 inches (7–12.5cm) long and 2
to 3 inches (5–7.5cm) wide. They tend to have a shape that is roughly heart-like, and
terminate in a blunt point.
Poblanos have a heat score that ranges between 1,000 and 1,500 Scoville heat units. How
high a chile pepper scores on the heat scale is determined by high-performance liquid
chromatography measurement of how many parts per million of capsaicin it contains. (Capsaicin
is the compound that gives chile peppers their fiery bite.) This figure is then converted into
the historic Scoville heat units that signify how much dilution is necessary to drown out the
chile’s heat. The heat level of a chile is given as a range because it varies with how
and where the pepper was cultivated.
Poblano pepper (raw), 1/2 cup (75g)
Total Fat: 0.1g
*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular
nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value, based upon United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.

An Introduction To Dried Chilies
When you're on a journey to get under the (poblano) skin of Mexican food, you could do much worse than to start by trying to grasp the wonderfully varied use of chilies (or chilies) that exists in Mexican cooking. There exist many types and for each many local variations. Contrary to popular belief, chilies offer so much more than heat and by mixing and matching the milder, more fruity variants you can add tons of flavor to dishes without too much fire! Of course, there are also chili types for those who love that fire.
To understand everything about chilies would take an uncountable amount of hours. Between joyously browsing food markets, exploring the endless variations and types of chilies available, and learning their regional preparation methods from kind and knowledgeable locals, time will simply fly by. Even if it does sound a whole lot like a food lover's paradise, it's hardly doable for many, so instead, we'll try to recreate a tiny fraction of the experience online – ta-dah! We'll stick with the dried varieties of Mexican chilies now, leaving for another time the world of fresh jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros.
We will go over the basic preparation and usage methods that the dried variations share, share a few interesting facts about chilies and the mark they have left on the world, before introducing a few of the more common varieties and their flavor profiles!
Let's get this fire started!

A chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeno that tends to be brown and shriveled. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex. Most chipotle chiles are produced in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua and are known as a morita (Spanish for blackberry or black raspberry; literally “little purple one”). These peppers are smoky and sweet with tobacco and chocolate tones. They feature a subtle, deep rounded heat with great aroma and flavor. Use in soups, stews, beans, chilis, or other recipes that like a long simmer. Try crushing and sprinkling on your next pizza or add as a bold twist to corn bread and barbecue recipes. Any tomato dish or pork dish pairs well with this medium heat pepper too.
After handling the chiles, wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water.
HEAT: 10,000-50,000 H.U.
1 oz. package

According to her, the hot ghee with roasted cumin and chili enhances the flavor. Like paprika, Kashmiri mirch is often used for flavoring and color, rather than heat. The Indian food I’ve been eating since I developed the motor skills to steal it off my mother’s plate has never been spicy because among the hundreds of bottles of spices in my household, red mirchi—the red chili used to add heat—is nowhere to be found.
But in my apartment near campus, it’s another story. In February, my kitchen was overrun with bird’s eye chili along with the arrival of my roommate, Sana, from Singapore. Unlike mine, Sana’s parents had been putting chili powder in her food since she was barely a year old. It’s not an uncommon practice in South Asian culture; I once witnessed my parents’ friend put dashes of Tabasco in her toddler’s corn flakes to acclimate her to the heat. Red mirchi doesn’t taste spicy to Sana. She dips her French fries into chili padi the way Americans dip them in ketchup. At home, her family keeps a bowl of red chilis on the dining table.
Within three hours of her arrival at the apartment, Sana rearranged our entire fridge to accommodate the bird's eye chili she had personally imported. These fire-hydrant-red chilis are hardly longer than my pinky, but they contain an explosive amount of capsaicin, the chemical that elicits a blistering reaction. Sana placed them on the middle shelf of our fridge, alongside the bok choy and black fungus mushrooms. Another batch of even hotter green chilis went in the vegetable drawer.
The next morning, Sana woke me up early to make avocado toast. As I groggily made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I neglected to tell her to turn on the stovetop’s exhaust while cooking. It’s frequently set off by water boiling or aloo-jeera frying in olive oil. But I was too late: The shriek woke our slumbering roommates as Sana roasted red chilis with garlic and cherry tomatoes to ornament the toast. When red chili is cooked at a high temperature, it smokes, chars, then sets off the fire alarm—in that order, every time.
That evening, to make up for the incident, Sana generously offered to cook everyone dinner.

English Name : Chili pepper or Green Bell Pepper
Common Indian Name (Hindi): Shimla Mirch
- In Northern India and Pakistan, word capsicum is exclusively used for Capsicum annuum.
- The species is a source of popular sweet peppers and hot chilies with numerous varieties cultivated all around the world.
- In the United States and Canada, the common heatless species is referred to as bell peppers, sweet peppers, red/green/etc. peppers, or simply peppers, while the hot species are collectively called chilies or chili peppers or hot peppers or named as a specific variety (e.g., banana pepper).
- In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the heatless varieties are called bell peppers, sweet peppers or peppers (green/red peppers, etc.) while the hot ones are chilies or chili peppers.
- In Australia, New Zealand and India, heatless species are called as capsicums, while hot ones are called chilies. The term ‘bell peppers’ is almost never used, although Capsicum annuum and other varieties which have a bell-shape and are fairly hot, are often called bell chilies.

Mexican Mulato Chilli is a dried Poblano chilli originally from Mexico. It is similar to the flavour of the Ancho chilli. It has a dark purple colour and a sweet and fruity taste, with hints of smoky chocolate, cherries, coffee and licorice. It is about 4 inches in length with a medium-thick skin. It is great for many "mole" sauce recipes. It is also excellent to add a dark rich flavour with low to moderate heat to any dish that could use extra warmth. For optimum results and flavour, re-hydrate the chillies in boiling water for 20 minutes before use.
Mexican Mulato Chilli is a dried Poblano chilli and is similar to the flavour of the Ancho chilli. It is dark purple in colour with a sweet and fruity taste, with hints of smoky chocolate, cherries, coffee and licorice. It is about 4 inches in length with a medium-thick skin and is great for many "mole" sauce recipes. It is also excellent to add a dark rich flavour with low to moderate heat to any dish that could use extra warmth. For optimum results and flavour, re-hydrate the chillies in boiling water for 20 minutes before use.
Much like other chilli varieties, Mulato chillies contain capsaicin which is known to have many health benefits including boosting the immune system, eliminating inflammation and aiding weight loss. It also helps with arthritis, cardiovascular disease, gastric ulcers, vascular headaches, infections and respiratory conditions.
Traditionally used in Korea for making Kimchi (a fermented cabbage condiment), Korean Chilli Flakes, also called Gochugaru, have a warm, fruity flavour. They are mild in heat, so make a great chilli seasoning option in place of regular hot chilli flakes. Whether used in cooking or sprinkled on top to season dishes, these flakes add a fruity chilli flavour to any savoury dish – both meat veg.
Take your loose leaf chai with you. Just add your chai spice into the bag and pull the drawstring.
Recycleable muslin cloth bags are easy to fill with tea leaves herbs and spices, great for the environment and handy when no tea pot infuser is available.

2,500 – 8,000 SHU.
Guajillo: Guajillo Chillies are a variety of the Capsicum annuum that are produced by drying the mirasol – a popular Mexican chilli. It has delightful flavours of berries and green tea and can be made into a delicious paste with onion, cumin, garlic, Mexican oregano and shallots. Used to make the salsa for tamales; the dried fruits are seeded, soaked, pulverized to a thin paste, then cooked with salt and several other ingredients to produce a thick, red, flavourful sauce. Used in pastes, butters or rubs to flavour all kinds of meats, especially chicken. Alternatively, they can be added to salsas to create a sweet side dish with a surprisingly hot finish. Do note that the skin is tougher than most dried chillies, so they require an extended soaking time.
Habanero: Habanero Chillies are amongst the most popular chillies in South American cuisine, particularly in Mexico. The chilli is revered as much for its fearsome heat as it is for its fruity flavour and floral aroma. With a spice rating of around 350,000shu, this is definitely one chilli to be respected!
Mulato: The Mulato is another dried poblano and part of the Holy Trinity of Mexican chillies, along with Ancho and Pasilla, used in mole poblano. The difference between the Mulato and Ancho is in the harvesting. Whereas Ancho is harvested just as it turns red, the Mulato continues to ripen to a deep rich red, almost brown, colour which gives it a complex character and flavours of smoky coffee, liquorice, cherries and a hint of chocolate. The rich brown colour deepens the colour of sauces making it the perfect spicing for casseroles and stews. Since the Mulato has thick skin and flesh, it is best prepared by rehydrating it in boiling water for max. 20 minutes then blending it into a purée. Alternatively, after rehydration, stuff with your favourite mixture and shallow fry.
New Mexico Red: These are famous for providing a rich red colour to dishes and Mexican sauces. Mild in heat and flavour, with a touch of sweetness followed by straightforward spicy notes.
Pasado: Pasado chillies are either New Mexico or Anaheim red chillies that have been roasted, then peeled and dried.

Preparation and serving methods
To prepare, wash them in cold water and mop dry using a soft absorbent towel. In general, wear gloves while handling hot variety chili peppers. Remove the stem. Chop or slice as you wish. Discard the seeds and central white placenta, if in case, to avoid excess hotness. Grilling under mild heat also reduces their hotness in addition to imparting smoky flavor.
Jalapeno peppers have successfully made inroad into the US households since their usage found several interesting variations in cuisine like, Tex-Mex cuisine (Texas-Mexican cuisine). Raw green, grilled, smoked, pickled jalapenos employed in a variety of Latin American, Spanish, Caribbean, and Asian cuisines.
Here are some serving tips:
- They can be used in place of bell peppers in the preparation of ratatouille, a traditional Occitanian recipe.
- Raw green jalapeno peppers added along with tomatoes and white onion to prepare fresh pico de gallo.
- They can be experimented with other fruits and vegetables to make salsa, guacamole, chutney, and salads.
- Split halfway lengthwise, remove seeds and stuff with sausage, cheese, etc., to prepare relishing stuffed-jalapenos (jalapeno poppers).
- Mexican and Tex-Mex American cuisine chiefly pivot around smoke-dried jalapenos, known as Chipotle.
- Add jalapeno rings as pizza toppings.
- Pickled jalapenos are eaten with sandwiches, tortilla, burgers, etc.
- Jalapeno peppers are one of the regular ingredients in mouthwatering Tex-Mex cuisine, nachos, chili con quiso, fajita, etc.
- They also add special flavor and spiciness to vegetable stews, poultry, meat and seafood dishes.
As in other hot chili peppers, jalapeno pappers too contain an active component in them, capsaicin, which gives strong spicy pungent character. Even a few bits may cause severe irritation and fiery sensation in mouth, tongue, and throat.
- Capsaicin in jalapeno peppers initially elicit inflammation when it comes in contact with delicate mucus membranes of oral cavity, throat and stomach, and may soon elicit severe burning sensation that is perceived as ‘hot’ through free nerve endings embedded in the mucosa.

So do a little trail blazin' yourself and discover the flavor that makes Mexene the chili powder of choice for real Texas Chili.In 1906, John Walker of the Walker Chili Company developed Mexene Chili Powder in a small South Texas town. The flavor was designed to duplicate the popular taste of chili
Spice Appeal Pasilla Chile Ground, 5 lbs
4.7 out of 5 stars with 78 reviews
Translated as “little raisin” in Spanish, this rich-flavored, medium-hot chile has hints of berries and licorice. Particularly good in sauces. When fresh, it is known as the Chilaca, and turns to a dark purplish brown as it ripens. The Pasilla is considered one of Mexico's most highly regarded chiles. Delicious in seafood sauces, soups, and stews. One of the key ingredients in mole sauces. 4 Heat Rating.Great addition to many dishes. all natural; vegetarian; vegan;. High quality fresh
Volcano Dust 3 - Smoked Bhut Jolokia (Ghost), 7 Pot and Scorpion Pepper Powder - Super Hot
mpn: VD3VD3, ean: 0854343005051,
4.6 out of 5 stars with 7 reviews
Comes in a spice jar with sifter - 3/4 oz. Smoked and dried pepper powder. Made from only super hot peppers, including the Bhut Jolokia, 7 Pot Jonah and The world's hottest Butch T. Trinidad Scorpion. 100% peppers - no additives.Super Hot Pepper Moruga Scorpion. Smoked Bhut Jolokia mixed with 7 Pot, Moruga and Trinidad Scorpion Pepper. 7 Pot Jonah. Comes in a spice jar with sifter - 3/4 oz. Butch T. Trinidad Scorpion.
Jansal Valley Chile Lime Powder, 20 Ounce
4.8 out of 5 stars with 106 reviews
Jansal Valley Chile Lime Powder, 16 Ounce A zesty blend of peppers, natural citrus powders, and seasonings, produce a spicy tart all purpose addition to almost any dish. Also works well in Bloody Marys, vegetable burgers, or added to mayonnaise or sour cream as a dip.Chile Lime Powder, 16 oz.

Peculiarly, although the European colonization of the world was driven in large part by the craze for Indian Indian pepper, until very recently the taste for chilis was largely reserved for the colonized, not the colonizer. And it should be said that not every use to which the colonized put the chili was excellent. The fruits of the capsicum family have certain innate punitive possibilities, as the Aztecs themselves recognized. A famous illustration in the sixteenth century Codex Mendoza depicts a father disciplining his son by holding him over a fire of smoking chili peppers. Here in India we took it a little further, as evinced in this enthusiastic passage from Science Reporter, an Indian popular science magazine, discussing the dangers of “capsaicin poisoning”:
Chili powder is often used by police in our country — and in fact in several third-world countries — to extract confession from criminals. It may be introduced in the mouth, nose, anus, urethra, or vagina to torture a suspect and extract confession from him. It is said that during emergency in India in 1976, chilies were used as a means of torture by introducing them in rectum! This process was known as Hyderabadi Goli… Finally, in our country, chili powder is often introduced in the vagina as a punishment for infidelity.
It’s true, by the way, about the Hyderabadi Goli. Back then our security forces believed the hottest chilis in the country came from Andhra Pradesh, the capital of which is Hyderabad. During Indira Gandhi’s twenty-one-month period of extraparliamentary rule, the Hyderabadi Goli was notoriously administered using a policeman’s cane slathered with mustard oil and chilis.
But Indian law enforcement has come a long way since then. In fact, the boffins at the Defense Research Laboratories had been researching ways to create a less lethal tear gas. (No less piquant, but literally less lethal — less likely to accidentally kill those exposed to it.) “Oleoresin capsicum (OC) is… environment-friendly and much safer,” they wrote. “Use of OC powders is growing and it is predicted to dominate the market in the coming years as the mainstay of riot control agents.”
Like latter-day Columbuses, they did not quite know what they had done.

10,000-25,000 Scoville units
Serranos are smaller and skinnier than jalapeños, and often picked unripe, when they are still green in color. As they mature, serrano peppers may turn a variety of colors, including red, green, brown, orange, and yellow. They are often consumed raw and appreciated for their crisp, bright, acutely spicy flavor. Try them to add bite to an all natural chili con queso.

The mild-mannered jalapeno was the byproduct of an experiment Villalon began in 1971. The goal was to breed genetic resistance to shriveling into sweet bell peppers. However, it so happened that the hot Mexican jalapeno put up a stronger fight against the malady than other peppers did, so he picked it as the original breeding partner.
To his surprise, the first crossbreed of peppers looked just like jalapenos, but contained dramatically less capsaicin - the clear, odorless, flavorless compound that makes hot peppers hot. Oddly enough, subsequent hybrids bore far less resemblance to the jalapeno, he says.
So he continued working with the jalapeno look-alike, which he called the TAM Mild, an acronym for Texas A&M. On a scale of 1 to 10, he says, his pepper's heat level ranges from 2 to 5 vs. the Mexican version's range of 6 on up.
Increasing with the popularity of Mexican food is the price of Mexican jalapenos, up from $11.50 to $15 a case in five years, he says. Although US farm production costs are higher than Mexico's, the TAM Mild offers the advantage of prolific plants that yield 20 percent more peppers per acre than their Mexican counterparts, Villalon says.
But the TAM's chief competitive advantage is its engaging disposition, he adds. And that makes restaurants the next target for its marketers. If one measures appeal by sales figures, Mexican restaurants in the United States doubled their sales to $3 billion between 1977 and 1981.
The civilized jalapeno does not signal the last of the breed's wilder side at all. ''For the hot-pepper lover, there's something for him already,'' says Villalon. ''It is for the uninitiated or the one who just likes the flavor with a little bit of spike to it that this would be the ideal situation.''

Pasado has a toasted flavour combined with apple, celery and citrus overtones. They have a medium heat level. Use in place of fresh New Mexico or Aneheim chillies to flavour soups, stews or bread.
Pasilla or Little Raisin: Pasilla pepper is the dried form of the Chilaca chilli. These peppers are often used in sauces. These chillis are sold whole or powdered in Mexico and the United States. The pasilla chilli, or chile negro, is the dried form of a variety of Capsicum annuum named for its dark, wrinkled skin. In its fresh form, it is called the chilaca. It is a mild to medium-hot, rich-flavoured chilli. The fresh narrow chilaca often has a twisted shape, which is seldom apparent after drying. It turns from dark green to dark brown when mature. Pasilla is a flavourful spice with berry-raisin-cocoa overtones. The Pasilla pepper has a Scoville Heat Unit rating between 1,000 to 2,500.Tepin: This small, hand-picked chilli has a searing heat and it tastes of corn and nuts. Crush the chilli over food or use it to flavour bottles of vinegar or oils.
Tepin Pepper Facts
: Tepin are considered one of the hottest chillies.
: Tepin are native to northern Mexico and southwestern US.
: Most tepin chillies are harvested from wild plants.
: Tepin are considered to be one of the oldest hot peppers.
: Also known as bird chilli, flea chilli, and mosquito chilli.
: Attempts to cultivate have proven to be problematic.
: Often confused with chilli pequin
: Tepin ranks 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville units.
Dried Smoked Spanish Chillies
Dried, mild-smoked chillies are widely used in Spanish cooking.
Choricero: This sweet pepper is very common in Basque cooking. From Navarre in the North of Spain, It is usually dried then rehydrated for use in stews and Basque dishes. The paste (Carne de Pimiento Choricero) made from the meat is used to make Chorizo sausage. It is not interchangable with the Ñora as each has a distinct flavour.

Chilli also called chile is the most popular spice and throughout history, wherever it was it transformed the previously bland cuisine. Latin American, Asian, African, Caribbean and certain regional Oriental cuisines made extensive use of this spice. Chillies are native to Mexico. Columbus, who was searching the New World for pepper came across these fruits, which, he discovered, were even hotter than peppercorns. He carried his prize to Europe and from there to Africa, India and the East where chilli became an intergral part of each cuisine. The long shelf life of the seeds was a bonus in the days of sea travel.
- Other Names
- Ají, chilli, guindilla, or pimienta (Spanish); berberé or mitmita (Amharic); biber (Turkish); bisbas (Arabic); cabé or lombok (Indonesian); chili-pfeffer (German); csilipaprika (Hungarian); diavoletto or peperoncino (Italian); hari mirch or lal mirch (Hindi); la jiao or lup-chew (Chinese); ot (Vietnamese); pilipili hoho (Swahili); pilpel adom or tsili (Hebrew); piment fort (French); piperi kagien or tsili (Greek); piripíri (Portuguese); pisi hui or prik (Thai); Spaanse peper (Dutch); togarashi (Japanese).
- Aroma and Flavour
- The characteristic pungency of chillies is caused by the presence of capsaicin. Research has indicated that the components of capsaicin promote different taste sensations when eaten, giving either a short fiery flavour or lingering hot taste. The hotness is said not to come from the seeds but rather the placenta. This is the pithy white part of the fruit to which the seeds are attached, and it contains the most capsaicin so removal of both seeds and placenta should reduce the pungency of chillies, if required.
- Culinary Use
- The chilli flavour revolutionized the cooking of tropical countries with bland staple foods, like cassava in South America, West and East Africa; rice in India and South-east Asia; and beans in Mexico and the Southern States of America.

The hatch, anaheim and poblano chiles tend to be more consistently on the medium spicy side, however, they too can vary. This recipe is definitely not for people who aren’t into spicy foods.

The chile is miraculous: it is packed full of vitamin C and it actually increases the tactile sensitivity of the mouth, which
may be one reason it’s popular in places that have bland staples. Liable to bring on a light sweat, it turns a meal into a
multidimensional experience. It’s about the only way of hurting yourself without harming yourself, which creates a flood of
endorphins. At the end of a serious chile-infused meal, you can feel dreamily, deliciously lightheaded, and lighthearted.
The New Mexican chile is famous, with names and variations like Hatch (a name loosely given to chiles of many types grown
around Hatch, New Mexico), Big Jim, Española Improved and NuMex Conquistador. Chile peppers grow easily in New Mexico,
ripening from green to red (green chiles are simply picked before they turn red) beneath the strong Southwestern sun. They
can be used fresh, roasted or dried and used as a seasoning, most commonly as a ground deep-red powder.
With the best chile, there’s something comparable to the terroir of fine wine, and the town of Chimayó is to chile as Havana
is to cigars. After centuries of selective breeding, and irrigation from a particular mountain stream, there’s an
unmistakable complexity to the chiles here, a citrus tang, a depth and richness you can’t quite find elsewhere. Throw
anything in a skillet—steak, chicken, vegetables, even tofu—sprinkle a couple of spoons of ground Chimayó red chile powder on
top, add salt and enough water to create a grainy, blood-red sauce, and the result will defy all logic, all culinary
chemistry or experience.
Yet, in spite of its fame, the Chimayó chile—a particular strain of chile that may have been brought here by Spaniards in the
1500s— almost became extinct a few years ago. Only three farmers could still be bothered to sort out its seeds from the other
varieties they grew, and because it’s smaller and harder to process, even they were about to give up.

Our weekend getaway to Denver a few weeks ago has left me with lingering memories of green chiles, the very, very hot kind. Although my Mexican dinner tonight failed to match up to the same level of spiciness, it at least tasted very, very good.
I think I may have to experiment with “ghost peppers” one day, the hottest peppers on earth. Spiciness of peppers is measured in terms of Scoville units. To give you a broad idea, the Serrano Peppers I used tonight are between 10,000 – 23,000 units. Tabasco is between 30,000 – 50,000. Habanero, which I consider very hot, is between 100,000 – 350,000. Well, these “ghost peppers” exceed 1 million Scoville heat units. It was even recently offered to be used in hand grenades!
Anyway, back to my dinner. I made a chicken enchiladas with salsa verde sauce and huevos rancheros with salsa ranchera. I was excited to combine both types of salsa into one dish for dressed up colors and added variety, despite the fact that huevos rancheros is a traditional breakfast dish comprised of fried tortillas, fried eggs and salsa ranchera. I thought the dish turned out both refreshing and satisfying, all thanks to my green chiles craving!

A powerful flavour
The habanero-type chilli pepper is native to the West Indies, Mexico and South America. Its shape is reminiscent of a small puffy sweet pepper. It comes in a variety of colours: green, yellow, orange, red, and purple. Its flavour is strong but subtle. Used sparingly, it is ideal for spicing up and giving an exotic touch to savoury dishes (sauces, salt cod fritters, pizzas, etc.). Its seeds are particularly hot, so it is milder if they are removed.
The habanero-type chilli pepper stimulates the appetite and digestive system. It is also a good intestinal antiseptic. It is very rich in vitamin C (100 mg per 100 g of chilli pepper). This vitamin is known for its antioxidant virtues and its beneficial role in the body (strong bones, cartilage and teeth, protection against infections, accelerated healing, etc.). It also contains a large number of B-group vitamins, as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium, etc.
With its thin, pointed shape, this chilli pepper evokes a bird’s beak. It is native to South America, the West Indies and Mexico. Most often, it is light or dark green; in rarer cases, it can be orange or red. It is particularly hot and fragrant. Whether it is hotter than the habanero-type chilli pepper depends on taste and the person! Like this type, it is used to spice up savoury dishes and sauces.
The bird’s beak chilli pepper has the same nutritional benefits as the habanero-type chilli pepper: it is a very good source of vitamin C, B-group vitamins, and potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. A useful tip: if your mouth feels like it’s burning, you should drink milk instead of water!
Mild and full of character
The vegetarian chilli pepper is 10 cm long. Elongated and pointed, it is initially green and then red when ripe. Very popular in the West Indies, it is very fragrant but particularly mild. It is therefore an ideal substitute for habanero-type or bird’s beak chilli pepper when you have a sensitive palate or when you are cooking dishes that will be eaten by children. It can be used in marinades, stewed dishes, salt cod fritters, etc.

Chillies aren't just about adding heat to a dish as each variety offers a different flavour from smoky to nutty or fruity. Many cuisines use specific varieties for different purposes, whether its fresh large fleshy ones to stuff with or dried ones for crumbling into sauces and stews.
Buy fresh ones that look crisp and glossy and not wrinkled. Generally, the fatter they are the milder the taste. The tiny green bird chilli and Thai red chilli are both high on the heat scale (though the little round and wrinkled Scotch bonnet is even hotter), the deep red Kashmiri chilli is a bit milder and it offers deep colour without extreme heat, whereas the yellow-green European banana chilli is both plump and very mild.
Red and green chillies vary in flavour, but although red ones are ripe green chillies, colour does not determine heat. If you are unsure of the variety and its heat, add cautiously.
Dried chillies tend to have a more concentrated flavour and can get hotter as they reconstitute during cooking, so add them at the beginning of cooking for lots of heat, or at the end for a milder effect. To remove the seeds from dried chillies, remove the stem end then shake them out. Use dried chillies whole, crushed, flaked or powdered. They will keep for about a year in an airtight container.

One of the most basic Chiltepin dishes known, this recipe is prepared only in the state of Sinaloa, where the Chiltepins produce fruits all year long. This simple soup is served in mountain villages, and everyone makes his own in a soup bowl.
When I write “flavored,” I mean it, as I have chosen the chiles that impart the most distinct flavors. The raisiny flavor of the pasilla melds with the apricot overtones of the habanero and the earthiness of the New Mexican chile to create a finely-tuned fiery sipping vodka. Of course, use an excellent vodka like Stolichnaya or Absolut. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
Island legend holds that the name of this sauce is a corruption of “Limes Ashore!”, the phrase called out by British sailors who found limes growing on the Virgin Islands. The limes, originally planted by the Spanish, would save them from scurvy. I guess that the bird peppers would save them from bland food. Add this sauce to seafood chowders or grilled fish. Note: This recipes requires advance preparation.
Popular throughout Southeast Asia, this garlic and chile based paste is used as a condiment that adds fire without greatly altering the taste of the dish. It is especially good stir-frys. This is a great recipe for using up any small chiles that are left at the end of the season. This paste will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator and it can also be frozen.
This year we used about a pound of LC Cayenne pods to cook up a sweet and spicy Thai sauce. Unlike “Louisiana Style” hot sauce, this one is thick, almost like ketchup, and is a lot less vinegary. It is great with grilled shrimp, over rice, for Asian cooking, and even as a dip.
Read Harald Zoschke's entire article on the Burn! Blog here.

So if you have a low tolerance to heat, slice open the chile and gut it by removing the seeds and veins.
In the northern hemisphere, most chiles are harvested between August and October, and the biggest producers are New Mexico and California. Most are harvested when green, but the longer they ripen the redder they turn. Some are purple, yellow, and orange. When shopping for peppers, look for smooth skin, a sign of freshness, and select those that are heaviest. The main exception is the jalapeño, whose skin is often marked by thin woody brown cracks, which detract not at all from their quality.
Fresh peppers have very different flavors than dried peppers, chiles pasado. For that reason you should not substitute anchos, which are dried poblano peppers, for fresh poblanos in a recipe, or vise versa.
There are scores of different types of chiles, and they range in heat from mild to incendiary (see the table below).
Other definitions of chile:
2) Chile is also the name for powdered chile peppers in most countries. In Mexico and Asia and Europe, chile powder is simply ground dried red chiles.
3) Chile is a sauce made mostly of chile peppers. It is usually chiles chopped or pureed, mixed perhaps with some garlic and salt, but not much else. This definition is common in New Mexico and Texas, where chile sauce slathered on everything except marshmallows.
4) And of course, Chile is a sovereign nation in South America.
Chili, with the concluding “i”, is used almost entirely in the US, and it also has multiple definitions:
1) Chili or American chili powder is a powdered spice mix made from dried chile peppers, cumin, garlic, and other spices.
2) Chili is also savory meat stew, usually beef, seasoned with American chili powder. It is the national dish of Texas.
3) Chili is a band: Red Hot Chili Peppers.
4) And Chili is a restaurant chain: Chili’s Grill & Bar.
About Chili Powder
In Europe this is usually just ground hot chiles. In the US it is a blend of chiles and other spices.
Sometimes restaurants and recipes spell chili or chile with two Ls. It is wrong.

Spice Guajillo Chile Powder 4 oz.
The Guajillo chile (pronounced wa-hee-oh) is one of the most common and popular chiles in Mexico. This chile is a deep orange red in color with thin flesh and a slightly sweet heat and piney flavor with berry tones. Guajillos are dried and ground whole including the seeds and the stem to produce this powdered form. A little bit of the chile will go a long way in producing authentic Mexican and Southwest flavor. Use in soups, stews, mole sauces and salsas. On a heat scale of 1-10 guajillo is a 3. The Scoville scale places the chile at 2,500 to 5,000.

I cut one open and taste a little bit to see if it is kicking. If it has no heat I go to the next pepper, if it has some but not a lot of heat I will throw some of its seeds and ribs into the recipe as well (most of the heat in a chile is in the seed pod, seeds, and ribs).
Chipotles are smoked jalapenos. You can buy them dried and soak them to rehydrate them or buy them canned in adobo, a tomato-based sauce. Either adds a delicious smoky flavor and quite a bit of heat to a dish.

There's New Mexico Chile and then there's New Mexico chile.
- Passadumkeg Jun 24, 2011 05:45 PM
I lived in New Mexico for all of the 70's and grew to love New Mex style chile. For years now, living in Maine, I'd order boxes of New Mexico dried chile pods from Hatch and when Hatch became "in" and expensive, from Deming. I spent the last year (and am returning) in New Mex. and chile heaven. I'm back in Maine for the summer and just this evening made some Sonoran style, stacked red chile enchiladas. I bought dried chiles , Hot New Mexico", pods at the grocery store. I made my chile as always, filling the blender w/ chile pod and pouring boiled water over them, blending and then adding to fried,diced pork and garlic. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The chile was a dark red/brown, instead of bright earth red, and hot it is not. I guess my point is Chile Heads beware and get the chile from the source and not at the supermarket. I guess when I stop learning, I'm in the obits. Comments?
I've done that. After many years of living with and learning from a roommate from Albuquerque I grew obsessed over Hatch chiles, both green and red.
Her parents used to send us freshly roasted chiles in the Fall for us to keep in the freezer. Posole was only an afternoon away with that gold on hand.
In the last couple of years I've been able to get green Hatch chiles in the late Summer to roast and put away for the year. Thank goodness.
Every other batch I made with NM chiles from the Mission, or WF or wherever just couldn't compare.
And, dang! That is some expensive mail-order!
There's a major difference in the soil, water, and sun. There is nothing like real chiles from the source.
I've never been to New Mexico, something I'd like to rectify sooner rather than later. Though I hear it gets a tad warm there during the summer when I am usually available to travel.
Part of me appreciates the idea that you can't just get great food of all kinds and stay put in one place. Going to the source always has been and always will be the only way to experience some things.

“Thus we have identified the hottest chili variety in India,” they concluded. When in fact, they had conquered the world.
It wasn’t until 2007 that the rest of the world finally admitted defeat. That February Guinness World Records certified that the hottest chili in the world was, in fact, the Naga Jolokia pepper, which the Indian scientists had called the Tezpur chili. Predictably, the Indian chili was only accepted in the West after it had been domesticated. An English gardener began selling seeds for what he called the “Dorset Naga,” and in 2006 one Paul Bosland, a scientist at the Chili Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, took credit for discovering the Naga Jolokia’s potency. (Guinness World Records cites his research.) Nowadays, chiliheads are swilling bottles of American-made Naga hot sauce, including Dave’s Ghost Pepper Sauce, Blair’s Pure Death Sauce (with Jolokia), and Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Sauce.
As you can probably tell, this burns me up a bit. I discovered the Naga Jolokia some twenty-five years ago on my first trip to the northeast, when I ordered a dish of egg curry and asked for extra chili. It was delicious, but within minutes my mouth and scalp were on fire. I experienced a dramatic bout of gustatory sweating and a temporary loss of hearing. I still remember it — and the jar of nougat candies that saved me. I have since acquired a taste for the chili, though I administer it with caution. I’ve learned the hard way not to touch my eyes and other tender parts after handling even uncut Naga Jolokias.
But there’s no point crying over spilled capsaicin. We’ve all moved on. India is still the world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of chili peppers, though in exports we’re beginning to feel the heat from — who else? — the Chinese. In 2009 the Indian Defense Research Development Organization announced the development of Naga Jolokia–based chili grenades for counter-insurgency operations. Meanwhile the Chili Pepper Institute’s latest genetic research has concluded that the Naga Jolokia is a “putative naturally occurring interspecific hybrid” of the chinense and frutescens.

The different varieties are unusually sweet compared to other onions due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which Vidalia onions are grown.
Traditional Chili isn’t the same without the garlic. Garlic is such a personal decision, do you like a little or a lot?
I suggest using around 6 cloves. Just enough to flavor the chili without over powering the dish.
The poblano (Capsicum annuum) is a mild chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Dried, it is called ancho or chile ancho, from the Spanish word ancho ("wide").
While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably they can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity. The ripened red poblano is significantly hotter and more flavorful than the less ripe, green poblano.
FRESNO CHILE PEPPER
The Fresno Chili Pepper (/ˈfrɛznoʊ/ FREZ-noh) is a medium-sized cultivar of Capsicum annuum. It should not be confused with the Fresno Bell pepper. It is often confused with the jalapeño pepper but has thinner walls, often has milder heat, and takes less time to mature. It is however a New Mexico chile, which is genetically distinct from the jalapeño and it grows point up, rather than point down as with the jalapeño. The fruit starts out bright green changing to orange and red as fully matured. A mature Fresno pepper will be conical in shape, 2 inches long, and about 1 inch in diameter at the stem. The plants do well in warm to hot temperatures and dry climates with long sunny summer days and cool nights. They are very cold-sensitive and disease resistant, reaching a height of 24 to 30 inches.
The Scoville rating of the Serrano pepper is 10,000 to 23,000. They are typically eaten raw and have a bright and biting flavor that is notably hotter than the jalapeño pepper. Serrano peppers are also commonly used in making pico de gallo and salsa, as the chili is particularly fleshy compared to others, making it ideal for such dishes.
It is the second most used chili pepper in Mexican cuisine and has a fruity flavor profile.

It is a very common ingredient in Mexican cuisine – in salsas, marinades and spice rubs. Made from dried Mirasol pepper, it sports a fruity, slightly tart, and gently smoky flavor, but mild enough to not overwhelm fish or chicken. We find both the heat level and the flavor to be complex, but not in-your-face kind of way. It’s a wonderful ingredient for both flavor and mild heat.
Heat: 2,500-8,000 SHU (mildly-hot)
Chipotle is such a delicious ingredient that they even named a restaurant chain after it! Cherished in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines, this tasty concoction is made by drying and smoking ripened red Jalapeño chiles. The flavor is quite earthy and mildly smoky – adding richness and a splash of mild heat which naturally compliments grilled foods. And there is just enough heat to get your attention!
Origin: French Guiana
Heat: 30,000-50,000 SHU (medium-hot)
With a long list of health benefits, cayenne is considered by many to be the healthiest spice in the world. The list of uses for cayenne is also long because it is such a versatile spice. The heat is definitely present, but not over powering. The flavor is very mild with floral and hay notes, making it perfect for adding heat but not radically altering the flavor of the food.
Heat: 30,000-50,000 SHU (medium-hot)
Aji Amarillo translates to “Yellow Pepper”, and this delicious chile is quite popular in the cuisines of Peru and Bolivia. As one of the main ingredients in our Peruvian-ish seasoning, it provides a very tasty fruity flavor with hints of mango, passion fruit and dried berries. Sometimes referred to as “the chile that tastes like sunshine”, we find that to be an accurate description. Similar to the heat level of Cayenne, Aji Amarillo provides a lot of flavor bang with very little heat.
Crushed Red Pepper
Origin: United States
Heat: 40,000 SHU (medium-hot)
You most likely have seen this ingredient provided as a pizza condiment alongside parmesan cheese, but it has many uses. As the name implies, it is made from hot dried red peppers. But did you know that it comes from more than one type of chile?

3.1.Soak the chillies in boiling water for 20 minutes, then purée them with some of the soaking liquid.
3.2.Sieve the purée to make a smooth sauce.
3.3.Add to taste when cooking.
3.4.Purées can be stored in a covered jar in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to a year.
Cooking Tips For Dried Chillies
To make chilli vinegar, fill a bottle with chillies, top up with vinegar and leave for two weeks before using.
Dry-roasting heightens the flavour of chillies.
2.1.Heat a heavy frying pan without adding oil.
2.2.Press the chillies on to the surface of the pan to roast them.
2.3.Do not allow the chillies to burn, or their flavour will be bitter.
2.4.When roasted, remove the chillies from the pan and grind them
Larger, thick-fleshed and thin-skinned dried chillies (such as anchos or mulatos) can be stuffed with meat, rice or vegetable fillings.
3.1.Make a small lengthways split in the chilli and remove the seeds.
3.2.Leave the stem intact.
3.3.Soak the chilli, then drain and pat it dry on kitchen paper.
3.4.Stuff carefully and bake until heated through.
Chilli Powder: Milder than cayenne pepper and more coarsely ground, this is prepared from a variety of mild to hot chillies. Check the ingredients list, as some chilli powders (especially those of American type) contain a variety of others flavours, such as garlic, onion, cumin and oregano. They are added for convenience for use in chilli con carne. If the chilli powder is dark in colour, it may contain the rich-rust-coloured ancho chilli. For best results make your own chilli powder. Deseed dried chillies, then dry-fry them and grind them to the required fineness.
Chilli Sauce: Tabasco® sauce is a North American seasoning made from extremely hot tabasco or cone chillies, which are mixed with salt and vinegar and then matured in white oak casks for several years. Many of the islands of the Caribbean have their own style of chilli sauce. Most are, like Tabasco®, made from steeping the chillies in vinegar and all are very hot.

Pasilla Chile Powder | Ground Pepper by Ole Mission$5.99
- AUTHENTIC FROM MEXICO - Authentic Mexican Pasilla Chiles Sourced From Farms Throughout Mexico
- GOOD FOR MEXICAN RECIPIES - Good For Mole, Salsa, Tacos, Menudo, Pozole, Tacos al pastor, Tostadas, Chiles en nogada, Enchiladas And Mexican Recipes
- RICH FLAVOR - Pasilla Chiles Have Rich Deep Flavor With Mild Heat Between 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville Heat Units
The pasilla chile or chile negro is the dried form of the chilaca chili pepper, a long and narrow member of species Capsicum annuum. The fresh narrow chilaca can measure up to 9.0 in (22 cm) long and often has a twisted shape, which is seldom apparent after drying. It turns from dark green to dark brown when fully mature. Pasilla are used especially in sauces. They are often combined with fruits and are excellent served with duck, seafood, lamb, mushrooms, garlic, fennel, honey, or oregano.They are sold whole or powdered in Mexico, Pasilla de Oaxaca is a variety of smoked pasilla chile from Oaxaca used in mole negro.

The black pepper has more of a "back bite". That means it takes a few seconds for you to feel the pepper on your taste buds. The white pepper is "front bite", which means you taste it right away. A little front bite is good. Cayenne is a way back bite. It seems like you can swallow before the bite kicks in, which is also good.
Comino is usually used in the form of powder, which is called cumin or ground cumin. Some folk use the whole seed but not many. To really get the flavor from the comino you need to process your own on cooking day. You put some comino seeds in a dry skillet and toast them just until you can smell them. Then you powder them in a spice grinder or some such.
The ratio of comino or cumin to the chili powder is about three to one in favor of the chili powder. In other words, three tablespoons of chili powder requires one tablespoon of cumin.
If you use the blended chili powder, the ratio does not necessarily change. The blend contains cumin, but it dies out with age and may not be strong enough to even taste in the blend. You need the cumin fresh.
A tad of oregano is good in chili. Use the Mexican variety, if you can get it, and just use a tiny bit as it is very potent. Some use a pinch of basil also. This is where individual taste comes in. Do what is best for you.
If you absorb this information and read the rest of my chili articles in the archives, I guarantee you will know more about chili than nearly any man or woman on the street.
Good chili results not so much from what you put in it as what you don't put in it. Good chili contains no arrowroot, anise, aspirin or arrowheads. Also no chocolate, sour cream or flax seed. Leave out rawhide doggie chews and empty cans. No seafood allowed. We don't want to see any whole Jap peppers floating in a sea of red grease either.
You know what to do; just do it.

When it comes to Mexican food and it’s flavors, specifically heat, it seems like I’m always hearing salsa this and salsa that. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Salsa, it’s just that thanks to far too many stereotypes, & the lack of proper knowledge, the culinary art of salsa making has been devalued, reduce to a very mild, & oversimplified one cheap trick pony. In reality, when it comes to heat & spicy flavors in the Mexican kitchen, the realm of possibilities is so vast. Your options are so diverse, and varied that you can be at no loss when looking to turn up the taste in your dishes. With the right ingredients you can arm yourself with the ability to produce: unique, extraordinary, and super flavorful surprises. What sort of ingredients? Well, Take for example today’s spotlight food: “Chiles en Vinagre” = Chilies in Vinegar, pronounced (Chee -lehs- ehn -Bee-nah- greh). Chiles en vinagre are pickled peppers. Some use Serranos in their recipe, others use Jalapeños. The basic Chiles en Vinagre recipe actually calls for the pickling of green chilies,carrots,and onions. There are those that will add other things such as cauliflower for example, but I’m more familiar & used to the basic recipe.
So salsa gets all too often automatically associated with Mexican food, to the point that it leads to a constrained singularization. Though this is one of the first things to be mentioned when talking of Mexican cuisine,the fact is that to some, Chiles en Vinagre are far more important. In some cases truly indispensable. There are people who claim they can not eat a proper meal without their chiles. To some this condiment is as important as salt & pepper. Week after week this is something on my grocery list. In my house, on our dinner table there’s always been a bowl of “chiles en vinagre” present.
The spicy treat is a great addition to all kinds of food. You can sprinkle the pickled juice on almost anything, you can munch on a crunchy carrot, or bite on a spicy, juicy pepper while you enjoy your meal.

Preparation Tips For Fresh Chillies
Cut away and discard the stalk end
Holding the chilli under cold running water to prevent the oils from affecting your eyes and throat, slit it from the stalk end to the tip
Scrape out the placenta and seeds
Afterwards, wash your hands, knife and chopping board thoroughly to clean off the oils
Do not rub your eyes or lips — even after washing your hands
Those with sensitive skin should wear rubber gloves when preparing chillies.
Serving Suggestions For Fresh Chillies
Make a Thai curry with shrimp or chicken, coconut milk, fish sauce, and thinly sliced hot green chillies.
Dried Mexican Chillies
Ancho: The most commonly used dried chilli in Mexico, Ancho Chillies is the name given to the dried Poblano. They have a mild fruity flavour with undertones of plum, raisin, tobacco and a slight earthy bitterness. Their delicious flavour means that Ancho Chillies are often used as the base for chilli and mole sauces (sauces enriched with bitter chocolate or cocoa), they can also be stuffed or cut into strips. Spice rating: Medium. 5000-9000 Scolville Units.
Cascabel or Little Rattle: Cascabel Chillies are also known as Rattle Chillies due the tendency of loose seeds to rattle inside their bell like shape. Cascabel chillies provide woody, acidic and slightly smoky flavours with tobacco and nutty undertones. They are also quite mild (rating at around 1,000-2,500 on the Scoville Heat Scale), meaning they can be used generously to take advantage of their delicious flavour.
Chipotle (Dried Jalapeño): A chipotle, or chilpotle (pronounced chipotlay), which comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoctli meaning "smoked chili" is a smoke-dried jalapeño. The peppers may have been smoked to keep them from rotting, since the jalapeño is prone to quickly deteriorating when stored as fresh peppers. It loses little of its heat through the smoking process, and many enjoy both its spiciness and the natural wood smoke taste that accompanies it. It's used as a flavouring ingredient in many dishes. It is smoky and spicy. Can be found as whole dried peppers, or, more usually, dried powder or paste or sauce.

Another of the marvelous Mexican Chiles the Cascabel Pepper is a member of the Capsicum annuum species and is also known as Cascabel peppers, guajones, cores chile bola and rattle chile which refers to both the shape of the chile as well as the sound the seeds make when a dried chile is shaken.
The Cascabel Pepper is a plump, round, smooth and small chile that ripens from green to red. When dried, the color darkens to a deep reddish-brown with an almost transparent but thick skin. When mature they are about 1-1/2” in diameter.
The flavor is somewhat nostalgic of strawberries, but the aroma is extremely beefy. It sounds odd, but the two balance quite harmoniously; like a steak slathered with a fruit-based barbeque sauce. We at Spice Jungle love to seed and stem cascabels, lightly toast them, and then toss them and a few roasted tomatillos into a blender and roughly chop them into a chunky salsa. It’s fantastic served with anything that comes off the grill.
Unlike many chiles, these are known by the same name whether fresh or dried. Recipes that call for Cascabel Pepper chiles typically are referring to the dried chile. The Cascabel Pepper is sometimes confused with the Catarina chile (their seeds also rattle when the chile is dried) and also as a darker cherry chile pepper (due to the similar sizes and shapes).
The Cascabel Pepper is grown in several states throughout Mexico including Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco and San Luis Potosi.
The flavor profile of the Cascabel Pepper is woodsy, acidic and slightly smoky with tobacco and nutty undertones. This chile is considered a mild heat chile (1,000-2,500 on the Scoville Heat Scale).
We like to roast these chiles in a hot skillet before using and then they can either be ground or rehydrated in warm water so they can then be made into a paste or a sauce. We also like to pair these with other Mexican chiles for more complex depths of flavor. If you are rehydrating these we recommend not soaking them for more than 20 minutes or they become bitter.

The small Pequin chile pepper, also called Chile Pequin, is used in hot sauces, salsas and soups. The pepper packs a lot of heat, so a little goes a long way. The immature green peppers are sold fresh more often than the mature, dried, red peppers. The green peppers are used in fresh salsas. Pequin chile peppers can be pickled and are the perfect size to spice up cucumbers in a pickling brine. To impart a soup with the flavors of the chile, puncture a fresh pepper several times with a fork or end of a knife and put the whole chile into the broth. Pequin peppers develop a more complex flavor when dried; the chiles can be dried in a low temperature oven or dehydrator. Dried Pequin chile peppers are ground into flakes and used as a spice for pastas, chicken or beef dishes or in dry rubs. Fresh Pequin chile peppers will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Pequin chile peppers are one of the two chile varieties used to make Cholula®, a popular hot sauce from Mexico. The Cholula brand hot sauce is said to be based on a “generations old” recipe from Mexico, and was named for the ancient Cholula in the state of Puebla, south of Mexico City. Cholula has firmly established itself in pop culture culminating with a partnership with Major League Baseball.
Pequin peppers are native to Mexico, and grow from the southern part of the country all the way north to the Texas and Arizona border in the southern United States. The plant grows wild in the mountains of Mexico and can be a challenge to cultivate due to the delicacy of the plant. When established, the plant will produce for up to three years and can withstand humidity better than other pepper varieties. Many of the cultivated Pequin chile peppers are dried and either sold as a seasoning in specialty stores or in a variety of products from pastes, chile flakes and hot sauces. Outside of Central Mexico, fresh Pequin peppers can be found in home gardens and through small farms and farmer’s markets.
Recipes that include Pequin Chile Peppers. One is easiest, three is harder.
|Houstonia Magazine||Chile Pequin Vinegar|

Chile, Chipotle, Brown (Chipotle Meco or Típico), Whole
Brown chipotles are native to Mexico and are also known as chipotle meco or tipico. They are fully ripened jalapenos, meaning they’ve been allowed to mature and turn red on the vine. They are dried by smoking and it takes about 10 pounds of fresh peppers to make one pound of dried. They have wrinkled, dark brown skin and a sweet, chocolate-like, smoky flavor. They register about 5 on heat scale of 1 to 10.Chipotle comes from the Aztec language of ancient Mexico, Nahuatl, and means 'smoked chile.’
When using dried chiles, you can opt to toast them first for added flavor and re-hydrate them by soaking in hot tap water for about 20 minutes. Don’t soak any longer or they can become bitter. Use them to make salsas, sauces and condiments. Great with chicken, pork and also beef. They offer a rich, smoky flavor and a nice bit of heat.

That burning sensation
If you want zip and heat in your favorite entrée, add a chile pepper. Peppers come in a variety of shapes and colors and range in taste from sweet and mild to hot.
Bell peppers are often picked when green and immature. Allowed to ripen to red, yellow, orange, brown, or purple, they are sweeter. Hot peppers are often harvested at maturity, usually when red.
At the market, choose high-quality peppers that are fresh-looking, firm, thick-fleshed, and free of disease and insect damage. Avoid bruised or soft peppers.
By varying the type, quantity, and part of the pepper you use, you can adjust the heat of a dish. The main source of pungency in peppers is capsaicin, which is odorless and tasteless but produces a burning sensation on contact. Capsaicins are found in the inner wall of the fruit (the white "ribs" and white lining) and are concentrated at the stem end of the pepper. The seeds may also contain heat. You can reduce heat by removing the seeds and ribs.
A pepper's heat is measured in Scoville heat units with the use of a systematic dilution test developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The scale ranges from 0 for the mild, sweet bell pepper to 300,000 for the fiery hot habanero pepper. Water stress on pepper plants can increase pungency, whereas cooler temperatures can decrease the heat of a pepper.
If you eat too much of a hot pepper or can't bear the heat, don't drink water. Because capsaicins are oils, they do not mix well with water, which will spread the heat around your mouth. Instead, drink milk or eat pasta, bread, or potatoes. These oil-absorbing foods will help relieve the burning sensation.
Wash peppers before peeling or chopping them. Avoid direct contact with hot peppers, because the volatile oils they contain can cause skin irritation or burns. Wear rubber gloves while handling them, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face. The seeds from hot peppers are often removed.
Most all peppers are good sources of vitamins A and C. A mature pepper has a higher concentration of vitamins. Both sweet and hot peppers are delicious raw, grilled, or added to cooked recipes.

Chile, chili, chilli, chilies, pepper, paprika, aji, capsicum, chiles pasado, pimento, pimiento, paprika. Let’s straighten out this mess.
In Central America the Nahuatl (Aztec) Indians grew a number of plants whose fruit they used in foods and medicines. They named it chil and its use spread across the region and Caribbean.
In 1492 Columbus discovered the Arawak Indians growing them on Hispanola and wrote that “They deem it very wholesome and eat nothing without it.” He brought them back to Spain where the “e” was added to chil, and within 50 years its’ cultivation had spread around the world. Today there are scores of varieties, sizes, shapes, colors, flavors, and they all have a spicy heat of varying degrees. Horticulturists named the plant Capsicum, derived from the Greek word kapto, which means “to bite” and scientists named the active ingredient that bites capsaicin.
Here are the definitive definitions describing the differences between chiles and chilis, some info about how hot the common ones are, and some tips on using them.
There are three definitions for “Chile”, with the concluding “e”:
1) Chile is the colorful fruit (it is technically not a vegetable) of the Capsicum plant, also called a pepper (that’s a jalapeno pepper above). But this pepper is not at all the same as the black pepper we put next to the salt shaker. Black pepper is the powder made from grinding peppercorns, the fruit of the Piperaceae plant.
Most chiles are spicy hot, which they get from a chemical irritant named capsaicin, which, interestingly, is also used in ointments as a pain reliever for such ailments as shingles because it can numb nerves. Let that sink in for a moment. A few peppers, like the common green and red bell peppers, have no heat and can be quite sweet.
Let’s bust another myth: Many people believe that the heat of a chile is all in the seeds. While the seeds do have some heat, by far most of the capsaicin is in the ribs that hold the seeds.
Most of the seeds are held in a bunch near the stem in a pod called the placenta. The closer the veins get to the placenta, the hotter they are.

This concoction consists of many chiles, like red bell peppers, cayenne peppers, and other dried red peppers. There is usually a high ratio of seeds to take the heat level of this flavorful ingredient up a notch. The flavor is familiar to most and the heat is moderate, but definitely quite noticeable, especially on the back end.
New Mexico Chiles
Origin: New Mexico, United States
Heat: 0-60,000 SHU (medium-hot)
New Mexico Chiles are one of our favorite chiles to use here at Dizzy Pig. These are “modern” peppers, developed at the New Mexico University in the late 1800s, and grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico (often called the chile pepper capital of the world). They are useful in both green and ripened states. The flavor is sharper when green. But when ripened to red, the flavor mellows and the front heat becomes more of a back heat.
There are many varieties, but we use ripened chiles with a mildly warm 30,000 SHU here at Dizzy Pig. The flavor is earthy and reminiscent of tea and dried cherries, and the mild heat comes in gently and slowly on the back end. We use this chile more for flavor than for heat.
African Bird Pepper
Heat: 150,000 SHU (hot)
As their seeds are often spread by birds, this chile also goes by the name Birds Eye Pepper. It grows throughout Africa, and commercially in Australia as well. It packs quite a punch, so we use it more for heat, but still enjoy the flavor it provides. The flavor of this chile is very mildly fruity, with notes of citrus, herbs and hay. The heat builds quickly in your mouth and could even leave you with some sweaty brow!
Heat: 100,000-350,000 SHU (very-hot)
Habanero chiles are gaining in popularity. Here at Dizzy Pig, we value their powerful heat, and especially love the intense fruity flavor that leads the way. Habaneros were the hottest chili in the world around the turn of this century, but they have since been dwarfed by other varieties. There are new varieties of Habanero that have little or no heat but still pack the great fruity and floral flavor, like the Habanada Pepper.

Originating from the Yucutan Peninsula in Mexico, this pepper variety is FEROCIOUSLY HOT and is thought to be one of the hottest chile pepper variety on the planet measuring a scorching 445,000 scoville units. This makes it twice as hot as a standard Habanero Chile and over 80 times hotter than an Jalapeno Pepper! The slightly wrinkled chiles are approximately 1 inch wide by 1.5 inches long and are similiar in shape to the Habanero. The chiles ripen from lime green to a brilliant red in 110 days and are produced on very productive plants that reach 30 inches tall. As well as the blistering heat, they have a lovely fruity flavour which makes them an excellent choice for use in salsa's, marinades and of course, in hot sauce. Note: An immature pod is shown here.

Chile de Arbol #9250 (30 seeds)
A Cayenne type of pepper with pointed pods, 2 to 3 inches long and 3/8 inches wide. They mature to dark red and are thin-fleshed. Mexican common names for this type are pico de pajaro (bird's beak), and cola de rata (rat's tail). Ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville units, they are usually ground into dry powder for red chile sauces or added to soups and stews. 80 days.
Large Red Thick Cayenne #9560 (30 seeds)
Concentrated set of wrinkled, very pungent fruit, 6 inches long and 1-1/4 inches in diameter. Very pungent, even when small. Useful for sauce and drying. 76 days.
Long Red Slim Cayenne #9425 (30 seeds)
Bountiful harvest of pencil-shaped fruits that are 5 inches long and 1/2 inch thick, but often curled and twisted. Flavor is red hot and best used in very hot dishes. Easily dried. 75 days.
Mesilla #9123 (30 seeds)
Often seen in grocery stores labeled 'finger-hots,' these are bright green at first but later turn to red. Slightly curved and wrinkled, these peppers are about 10 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, and are borne in abundance. Use them whenever good, spicy flavor is desired. Large plants are quite disease-resistant and easy to grow. 85 days.

Looking to spice things up? Before making that salsa or tossing a few chilies on your taco, think again. There are hundreds of chili varieties worldwide, each with their own range of heat. Whether mild and sweet or frighteningly hot, each chili contains a chemical called capsaicin.
Capsaicin is an irritant with enough strength that it has been included in pepper spray used by police forces, in pest control repellants and is even an ingredient in paint stripper. While individual chilies do not contain high amounts of capsaicin, the strength of it can depend on how hot the chili is.
For example, certain peppers can leave a burning sensation on the skin if the seeds or membranes are handled. While the occasional chili or two added to a recipe or eaten raw won’t do any damage, large amounts of capsaicin can cause gastrointestinal symptoms and in extremely rare cases, prove fatal.

Chili peppers are capsicums and are in the same family as bell peppers and paprika pods. They range in flavor from rich and sweet to fiery and hot. The important thing for you to remember is to combine the heat of chili peppers with other spices so the finished dish will have a full bodied flavor.
Here is an description of the most commonly used peppers in the world. Many are readily available others are only available by mail order. Here is a listing of some of the most popular chili peppers. The spiciness is rated in scoville units. The bigger the number the hotter the chili. These chilies are available usually dried.
This chili is Turkish in origin and has a ancho like flavor with a little more heat and tartness. Crush and put in a jar and shake on pizza and spaghetti. Allepo is great on grilled meats, steaks and chops. Use in your tuna salad and on your deviled eggs. 10,000 scoville units.
Large, juicy, dark purple Mexican chili pods. These peppers are the most commonly used in Mexico, and are the backbone of dishes such as traditional red chili and tamales. To make a flavorful ancho chili oil; Chop 3 peppers into 1 inch chunks and simmer in 3 cups of corn oil for 20 minutes. Let cool, strain and store in an airtight container. Drizzle over tacos, tamales or other dishes where you want a little zip. 3,000 scoville units.
These peppers have a round shape with rich deep flavor, and are pretty spicy. In Mexican cooking they are used from everything from chili, tacos and mole. 11,000 scoville units.
This chili is usually found in powdered form. It is very spicy.Use judiciously. 40,000 scoville units.
These are small super hot red Mexican chilies. They are also known as birds eye chilies. These chilies are also common to Thailand. Use with caution. These chilies are also used whole in Asian cooking. 140,000 scoville units.
Chipolte peppers are smoked jalapeño peppers. They are available either dried in canned in adobo sauce. They are rich smoky and fairly hot. They are wonderful added to chili or red chili sauces. 15,000 scoville units.

Cooking with fresh chili peppers adds big flavor (without calories) to all kinds of recipes – even dessert! Whether you’re a fan of mild peppers or four-alarm heat, we’re breaking down the different types of these tiny spice powerhouses. Then, light a fire in your kitchen with five hot dishes.
The mildest of the bunch, you can use dark green poblanos in place of green bell peppers. They’re exceptional for sautéeing, roasting, stuffing, or making sauces.
RECIPE: Chicken Pepian
Lesser-known Anaheim peppers have a little bit of heat and a sweet crunch. Roasting or grilling enhances their natural sugars. Follow these tips from the Food Network Kitchens for perfect roasted peppers, then make this salsa.
RECIPE: Roasted Pineapple and Pepper Salsa
Slender and bright green, serrano chilies are a good multipurpose pepper. They register in the middle of the heat scale, and taste great raw in guacamole, salsa or in a spicy sauce for seafood.
RECIPE: Grilled Shrimp in Lettuce Leaves with Serrano-Mint Sauce (pictured)
With slightly less heat than serranos, jalapenos are well suited for pickling, roasting or baking. Remove the seeds and inner membranes to tone down the heat.
RECIPE: Baked Jalapeno Poppers
These tiny peppers pack a super hot punch. Thousands of times hotter than other chilies, proceed with caution when using these babies – they’ll knock your socks off. Pair them up with tangy pineapple for a cool (and hot) sorbet.
RECIPE: Pineapple Habanero Sorbet
Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition. See Dana’s full bio »

Some salsa verde is made with chopped serrano peppers, which have a bit of a nip, but they're nothing compared to the Habanero. A couple of drops of a good (read: insanely hot) habanero sauce can render a meal volcanic.
If you ask a chilehead why they eat hot foods, you'll get several answers, but the main one is the endorphin rush. Endorphins are natural opiates released by the brain to signal pleasure rather than pain. You can be eating hot foods, panting, breathing hard, sweating, your lips on fire - and smiling because you really enjoy it! Me, I'd have to say the taste they impart.
Hot peppers vary considerably in type, the location where they're grown, the temperature of the growing season, when they're harvested and how they're processed. McIlheny, for example, puts their picked peppers in a barrel with salt and lets them age naturally three years before processing. The result is a wonderful, smoky, rich and deep flavour. Some companies, on the other hand, use chemical enhancers to artificially age their products, sometimes giving them an unpleasant aftertaste and a thin, watery tang.
Although I consume industrial-size bottles of Tabasco sauce in short order, and I really like the Tabasco flavour, I also really enjoy habanero and jalapeno sauces. Unfortunately, they're difficult to find at some local groceries. Sad that I have to shop for comestibles of this sort in Toronto or further away. I've found a good source in Ottawa (Canadians take note) called Chilly Chiles, online at www.chillychiles.com.
In my kitchen are several Mexican habanero sauces waiting, like fine wines, to be sampled: La Anita, La Extra, Salsa Cancun and Loltun. I'm working through a bottle of Melinda's XXX, which is produced in Mexico, but isn't as hot (or as tasty) as it used to be when it was made in Belize a few years ago. I've generally found the bottled saunces less appealling than the homemade ones.
Many Oriental pepper sauces add garlic, which can give them real zest, but they also usually contain sugar and sometimes MSG. Some Mexican, Caribbean or Jamaican sauces add these and other ingredients, like onion, carrots or even curry to give them a rich taste.

Kung Pao Peppers
I was talking to some friends about how our garden is doing – we have seven different kinds of peppers going right now, including four hot varieties, so I’m listing them here for our, and their, reference. I’m sure when they’re ripe, they’re going to be prolific, so make your requests now
The number after the pepper type is its measure on the Scoville scale, which measures the hotness of a pepper. The scale goes from 0 for sweet bell peppers to 15-16 million for pure capsaicin, which is the chemical that supplies the heat in a hot pepper. In 2006, the habanero pepper, with a Scoville range of 350,000–580,000 for heat, was overtaken by a new variety: the Bhut Jolokia from India, with a Scoville range of 855,000–1,041,427. That’s scary hot.
By the way, “hot” and “spicy” are not the same thing; hot is heat (duh) and spicy has a lot of spices in it. Spices are the dried seeds, fruits, roots, bark and other parts of plants (not including the leaves, which are herbs); examples are cumin seed, peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and saffron. So food can be spicy but not hot.
- Anaheim – 500–2,500
- Cayenne – 30,000–50,000
- Jalapeno – 2,500–8,000
- Kung Pao – 7,000-12,000
- Pimento – 100-500
- Sweet bells – 0
- Tabasco – 30,000–50,000
Here’s a hot tip (groan ): If you eat something that’s too hot from chiles, drinking water, beer or wine won’t help. Capsaicin is not water-soluble, so those beverages won’t reduce the heat at all. Instead, have some dairy ready, maybe as a dip or sauce – milk, sour cream or yogurt will counter the heat.
Chile peppers are an ancient crop that originated in what is now Mexico and South America. After European explorers found the Western Hemisphere, peppers spread around the world and now are found in cuisines everywhere.

Chili peppers are the fruits of Capsicum pepper plants, noted for their hot flavor. They are members of the nightshade family, related to bell peppers and tomatoes, and most belong to a species known scientifically as Capsicum annuum.
There are many varieties of chili peppers, such as cayenne and jalapenos. Chili peppers are primarily used as spices, or minor ingredients in various dishes, spice blends and sauces.
They are usually eaten cooked, or dried and powdered, in which form they are known as paprika.
Capsaicin is the main bioactive plant compound in chili peppers, responsible for their unique pungent (hot) taste and many of their health benefits.

Famous Mexican moles, chilli con carne and Tex-mex foods make extensive use of chillies. Curries from Thailand and Malaysia, and Indonesian sambals and satays all rely on chillies for their characteristic flavours. Many Szechuan dishes depend on the chilli flavour. Countries which do not use chillies as extensively in everyday dishes also depend on their heat for certain traditional preparations; for example, piquant pasta dishes from Italy use fresh and dried chillies, and prudent use of chillies is made in many of the pickles, relishes and cooked chutneys of the more Northern European countries.
- Chilli Pepper Heat Scale in Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
- This scale measures the relative content of capsaicinoids that give the heat.
1 Mild – below 3,000
2 Medium – 3,000 to 15,000
3 Hot - 15,000 to 50,000
4 Very Hot - 50,000 to 300,000
5 Super Hot - above 300,000 up to 2,000,000
Fresh chillies are available almost everywhere, from independent green grocers to Oriental stores and supermarkets. It is difficult to be specific about their heat: even fruits from the same plant can vary in strengh.
Anaheim: These are about 10 cm long, red or green and mild to medium in flavour.
Bird's Eye: These chillies are so hot that they taste explosive to the uninitiated. They can be green, red or orange in colour.
Caribe: These spicy yellow chillies are the perfect choice for people looking to add noticeable heat to salads, soups, and other dishes with a raw pepper that won’t melt your mouth.
Cayenne: Sometimes called finger chillies, these are slimmer than anaheim chillies, they are always red and hot.
Serrano: Slightly chunky, these red or green chillies can be hot or slighty milder.

Since the heat of a pepper can vary from one valley to another, from one bush to another, and since this system relies on human taste tests, it is highly inaccurate. The American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) uses chromatography to measure the concentration of heat producing chemicals. Conversion to SHU is not precise, however.
When chopping hot chile peppers it is wise to wear rubber gloves, and be sure not to touch your eyes, pick your nose, use the urinal, or make love before you wash thoroughly. On the last two items, I could relate stories I have heard, but this is a family website.
Cooking chiles usually diminishes the heat.
Chile sauces will change color and flavor with age, but the heat will not diminish.
How hot is it?
Here are some benchmarks:
|5,300,000||Police grade pepper spray|
|1,000,000||Bhut Jolokia “Indian Ghost Chile”|
|210,000||Orange Habanero chiles|
|150,000||Red Habanero chiles|
|100,000-250,000||Scotch Bonnet chiles|
|80,000||Dave’s Insanity Sauce|
|15,000-30,000||Habanero hot sauces|
|15,000-30,000||McCormick’s Crushed Red Pepper|
|5,000-15,000||Del Arbol chiles|
|5,000-15,000||Tabasco Sauce (original)|
|5,000-10,000||Chipotle powder, Sandia chiles|
|4,000||Pasilla (dried Chilaca)|
|1,000-3,000||Big Jim, Anaheim|
|1,000-3,000||New Mexico #20, New Mexico 6-4|
|1,000-1,500||Poblanos, Anchos (dried Poblanos)|
|1,000-1,500||Typical American chili powder|
|0||Green bell pepper, red bell pepper, Carmens for paprika|
Putting out the fire
Capsaicin is not water soluble, so if your mouth ignites when eating hot peppers or hot sauce, beer and cold water are not very good at putting out the fire. They only distribute the capsaicin oils.

It sure is getting warm around here! The recent seasonal release of Ghost has us pretty excited here at Dizzy Pig. It’s also a great reminder of how important chiles are to the culinary world as well as to our products. Whether you spell it chili, chilie, chilli, or chile, these peppers are not only nutritious, they are packed with flavor. Some are hot and some are mild, but most of them have at least a little heat depending on the amount of Capsaicin they contain.
The Scovile Scale
The “heat” in chiles is commonly measured using the Scoville Unit scale, sometimes abbreviated SHU (Scovile Heat Units) or HU (Heat Units). We won’t get too scientific with all the details here. But for reference, check out the SHU levels for some of the most commonly used chiles:
- A red bell pepper has 0-100 SHU
- Habanero registers between 100,000 and 350,000 SHU
- The hottest pepper known to man at this time, Pepper X, has 3,200,000 SHU… that’s 100 times hotter than a habanero
Dizzy Pig’s Top Ten Chiles
There are thousands of chile varieties in the world. However, we will limit this post to the top ten chiles that are used in our products, from mildest to hot. As a testament to chiles’ versatility, it is important to note that all of our small batch craft seasonings, with the exception of our Happy Nancy, contains some form of chile.
Heat: 85 SHU (very-mild)
Did you know that paprika is a chile? Actually, there isn’t a chili called paprika – it is a combination of ripe, dried and ground chiles, such as bell pepper, tomato pepper and other sweet peppers. It has been around for a long time, and for good reason too. It has a wonderful flavor that is a little tangy, slightly sweet, and quite earthy with hints of tea and berries. The color ain’t too shabby either. The Spanish Paprika we depend on here at Dizzy Pig has a bright red to red orange color.
Heat: 2,500-5,000 SHU (mild)
You may have tried Guajillo (pronounced gwä’he yo), and not realized it.

The amount of heat in chiles was carefully measured first in the early 1900’s by Wilbur Scoville. Chile pepper extract was diluted with sugar until the heat was no longer detectable. Today the measuring is done with more precise methods. But despite all the technology, the range of heat for each chile still varies tremendously. While the Scoville Unit (SU) for a cayenne chili may register 30,000 today, next week it might register 50,000. This is due to variations in growing conditions, including weather, soil, and neighboring crops.
Luckily, most recipes do not specify Scoville Units, and most cooks just want to know if the chile is hot or not. The following entries are listed as mild (0-2,000 SU), moderate (2,500-23,000 SU), hot (12,000–50,000 SU), and very hot (50,000–325,000 SU). Higher Scoville Units exist for things like police pepper spray, but you won’t be cooking with that stuff, I hope!
They all contain capsicum, which is the compound that creates the sensation of heat on the tongue. This stuff can create some discomfort, especially on tender, sensitive skin. To be safe, use gloves when chopping chiles, and keep your hands away from your eyes (and other tender areas).

Were you among the 30,000 people in Hatch, New Mexico, at noon on September 1, when the Chile Queen and her Red and Green Chile Princesses were crowned at the kick-off of the world's most famous chile festival?
Did you watch the chile-eating contests and inhale the aroma of fresh green chiles being roasted in the field? Did you purchase some ristras, taste the burritos and sopapillas, ogle the best-of-show chile pods?
Thanks to friends who travel frequently to Taos, however, I am well supplied with several varieties of New Mexico dried ground chile pepper, and my pantry would be naked without it. (Left to right in the photo above: red and green flakes, ground red, ancho.)
Big Jim, Sandia, Anaheim and Espanola are the most popular New Mexico chile varieties; all rank as fairly mild on the Scoville scale, at 500-2,500 Scoville units. (A bell pepper is 0 Scoville units, a habanero 300,000 or more.) In my pantry, I also have hot ground chile from Vietnam, and wickedly hot cayenne, from California, plus mild and hot variations of what we call pizza peppah here in Rhode Island.
Chili powder (with an "i") and ground chile pepper (with an "e") are two different products. With an "e", it's pure pepper. With an "i", it's a blend, often containing one or more varieties of ground chile pepper, plus cumin, garlic and Mexican oregano. And, even more confusing, many recipes for chili call for some type of chile.
According to New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute, where in addition to scholarly research and practical advice, you can also find an online seed catalog, one teaspoon of dried red chile powder provides an adult's daily requirement of Vitamin A, and one fresh green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
In fact, chiles are so popular that, for more than 20 years, they've even had their own magazine. Now, how many foods can make that claim?
Adapted from Weekend! A Menu Cookbook for Relaxed Entertaining, by Edith Stovel and Pamela Wakefield, this is a great recipe for those who don’t eat beef but still want some meat in their chili.

If you do not dare with them you can use jalapeño peppers, which have another type of spice or even with a drizzle of Tabasco sauce. But if you prepare it for a Mexican, it must have serrano chile with seeds and everything.

Choose peppers with deep, vivid colours, and avoid those that are shriveled or have soft spots.
As a general guideline, the bigger the chili, the milder it is. Smaller peppers tend to be a lot spicier because, proportionally, they contain more seeds and veins than larger peppers.
Store peppers in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator for best results.
Capsaicin will not only set your tongue on fire - it has the potential to irritate the flesh as well - this is why it is extremely important to wash your hands well after handling a pepper. For anyone who has accidentally rubbed their eyes or nose after preparing a pepper, they will understand! Consider using rubber gloves when cutting and seeding a pepper to avoid any accidental contact with skin.
Cooking or freezing will not diminish capsaicin's potency - so the only way to remove some of the heat is by removing the seeds before cooking.
If reaching for a tall glass of water after eating a chili pepper is your idea of relief - think again. Capsaicin is oil based, and therefore does not mix with water. In fact, water may actually distribute the capsaicin to more parts of the mouth.Â Instead try drinking a glass of milk, eating some rice or a piece of bread to relieve the burning sensation.
Healthy Ways to Enjoy:
- Mix chopped peppers into a stir-fry for some added heat
- Add a few slices of hot peppers to an omelet
- Spice up a sandwich by adding some chopped peppers to tuna or chicken salad
- Stir in some peppers to guacamole for added flavour
- Add chopped chili peppers to your favourite cornbread for some added kick
- Add a thin slice of pepper to homemade sushi
- Try experimenting with different peppers in homemade chili for variations of flavour and heat
Did you know?
- Guinness World Records confirmed that a professor at New Mexico State University discovered the world's hottest chili pepper - the Bhut Jolokia - it measures 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units!
- Archeological evidence suggests chili peppers were domesticated over 6000 years ago in Ecuador
- Ever wonder why a food that causes pain is so popular? One theory is that the discomfort in the mouth causes the brain to produce endorphins, these are natural opiates that give pleasure
- There are over 200 varieties of chiles - over 100 of which are indigenous to MexicoÂ

Chilli hot peppers : seeds, chillies and sauces
Most people have heard of the Richter scale, which measures the intensity of earthquakes. But there was a scientist called Wilbur Scoville (1865-1942), who gave his name to the less well-known scale used for measuring the "heat" of chilli peppers and the products derived from them. This heat/spiciness in chilli peppers is produced by a chemical compound called capsaicin, which is found in nearly all types of chilli pepper except for sweet bell peppers, those big chunky green, yellow, orange or red peppers you can buy in any supermarket or greengrocer.
The Scoville scale runs from zero (no heat at all - those sweet bell peppers) to 16,000,000 (16 million), which you'll be relieved to hear isn't found anywhere in nature but is the value given to pure capsaicin and its derivative dihydrocapsaicin.
The hottest chilli pepper known to man is the Bhut Jolokia, which also goes under various other names including Naga Morich, Naga Jolokia, or the ghost chilli. This chilli comes from India/Bangladesh and is about 850,000 - 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale. That's seriously hot! To give you something to compare this against, the original Tabasco sauce is rated at about 2,500 - 5,000, jalapeño peppers are also about 2,500 - 5,000 (or 2,500 - 8,000 depending on which sources you read), and Scotch bonnet peppers are 100,000 - 325,000.
Eating a Dorset Naga (don't try this one at home...)
Not surprisingly, you won't find many people willing to cut the Bhut Jolokia up and toss the pieces in a salad, although it is used - sparingly - in some Indian foods such as fish curry. India's defence scientists have however found some non-culinary uses for it - for example, they're planning to use a powdered form of the Bhut Jolokia in hand grenades! Interestingly, Bhut Jolokia-type chillies don't just grow in the tropical climate of the Indian sub-continent.

Dried red chili peppers are generally sold as ‘dried red chili peppers’ and not always specifically labeled. Depending on the type of chili you buy and its age, the heat can vary greatly. To gage it’s level, you’ll want to smell the chilies when you open the bag. If it’s pungent and tickles your nose, they’re probably pretty hot. If you don’t get much fragrance off of them, they’re probably more on the mild side. If I’ve learned anything from cooking with chilies, it’s that someone’s idea of what is hot, covers the spectrum. So use the amount of chili peppers that best fits your comfort level.
Another note about the dried chilies – when cut into small pieces, I enjoy the extra bit of heat of biting into them. If you want the flavor but not the additional heat, then slice the chilies lengthwise (so they’re in larger pieces), remove the seeds and cook as directed. When done cooking, simply remove them and serve.

Booth says this species is indigenous to both the East and West Indies and has been grown in England since 1731. The pods are erect, roundish, egg-shaped, very pungent. It was probably early introduced into India as shown by the belief that it is native. It is used like other red peppers by the Mexicans who call it chipatane.
Capsicum cerasiforme Mill. Cherry Pepper.
Tropics. Its stem is 12 to 15 inches high; fruit erect, of a deep, rich, glossy scarlet when ripe; of intense piquancy. A variety occurs with larger, more conical and pendent pods, and there is also a variety with yellow fruit.
Tropical America. This plant is considered by some botanists as a native of India, as it has constantly been found in a wild state in the Eastern Islands, but Rumphius argues its American origin from its being so constantly called Chile. It is the aji or uchu seen by Cieza de Leon in 1532-50, during his travels in Peru and even now is a favorite condiment with the Peruvian Indians. This pepper is cultivated in every part of India, in two varieties, the red and the yellow, and in Cochin China. In Ceylon there are three varieties, a red, a yellow and a black. It has been in English gardens since 1656. Its long, obtuse pods are very pungent and in their green and ripe state are used for pickling, for making Chile vinegar; the ripe berries are used for making cayenne pepper. Burr describes the fruit as quite small, cone-shaped, coral-red when ripe, and intensely acrid but says it will not succeed in open culture in the north.
Capsicum minimum Roxb. Cayenne Pepper.
Philippine Islands. This is said to be the cayenne pepper of India. Wight says this pepper is eaten by the natives of India but is not preferred. It grows also on the coast of Guinea and is recognized as a source of capsicum by the British Pharmacopoeia. It is intensely pungent.
Tropical regions. This species is said by Booth to be the bonnet pepper of Jamaica. The fruits are very fleshy and have a depressed form like a Scotch bonnet.

Green chillies have higher water content and zero calories which makes them a healthy choice for those who are trying to shed some pounds. Green chillies are a rich source of beta–carotene, antioxidants and endorrphins while red chilies consumed in excess can cause internal inflammation which results in peptic ulcers.
What pepper makes Indian food spicy?
Black Peppercorns- Black peppercorns are either used whole or can be ground down in Indian cooking. They are distinctly spicy and can be added to almost anything. Black pepper is considered the King of Spices in India, and also arguably all over the world.
Do Indians use peppers?
Undercooked spices will leave you with an unpleasant spice taste, which detracts from the flavors of the dish. Indian cuisine uses chili peppers in 3 main forms: whole fresh.
What is the world’s hottest pepper?
Top 10 Hottest Peppers In The World [2021 Update]
- Carolina Reaper 2,200,000 SHU.
- Trinidad Moruga Scorpion 2,009,231 SHU.
- 7 Pot Douglah 1,853,936 SHU.
- 7 Pot Primo 1,469,000 SHU.
- Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” 1,463,700 SHU.
- Naga Viper 1,349,000 SHU.
- Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) 1,041,427 SHU.
- 7 Pot Barrackpore ~1,000,000 SHU.
Are green chiles the same as poblano peppers?
Poblano peppers are beautifully mild green peppers that impart a deeper, smokier flavour than comparable green bell peppers. Compared to Indian green chilies, Poblanos are extremely mild, about 1000-2000 scoville units per pepper compared to 15,000-30,000 scoville units for a green chili.
Can Carolina Reaper kill you?
Can Eating a Carolina Reaper Kill You? No, eating Carolina Reapers or other superhot chili peppers will not kill you. However, it is possible to overdose on capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot. One would need to eat more than 3 pounds of reapers to achieve this.
What are the top 20 hottest peppers?
En Fuego: Top 20 Spiciest Peppers In The World
- 8 7 Pot Chili.

Chili Peppers - What's Hot?
When it comes to chili peppers, some are hotter than others. Can you please provide some guidance? TOH: When it comes to rating chili peppers' heat, looks don't help: It's the seeds and membranes that count. Scoville Heat Units (SHU), named after researcher Wilbur Scoville and used by heat experts, indicate the amount of capsaicin, a potent compound that gives chilies their sizzle. Although the method for determining SHUs relies heavily on subjectivity, the scale is a respectable gauge. Use the following information from chiliworld.com to put the heat into perspective: Sweet bell pepper - 0 Cubanelle pepper - 100-1,000 Texas Pete Hot Sauce, T.W. Garner Food Co. - 747 Anaheim pepper - 500-2,500 Poblano pepper - 1,000-2,000 Jalapeno pepper - 2,500-5,000 Chipotle pepper (a smoked jalapeno) - 5,000-10,000 Serrano pepper - 6,000-23,000 Tabasco brand Habanero Sauce, McIlhenny Co. - 7,000-8,000 Cayenne pepper - 30,000-50,000 Habanero pepper - 100,000-350,000
Up to 80 percent of the fiery factor in peppers - capsaicin - is found in the seeds and membranes of peppers, so the only way to reduce the heat of a hot chili is to remove the seeds and veins. But keep in mind that a little burn is not without benefits. Capsaisin is known for its decongestant qualities; it also causes the brain to produce endorphins, which contribute to feelings of well-being, according to The Food Lover's Companion.

Spicy pepper sauce with ginger
Chillies (hot peppers) and peppers (Capsicum annuum and other species of the genus Capsicum) are vegetable plants of the Solanaceae family, grown for their aromatic green, yellow or red fruits, depending on their degree of ripeness. They are native to South and Central America, but are grown all over the world.
Chillies are consumed fresh in their countries of origin and most often dried and then reduced to powder or paste in importing countries. The main producing countries are India, China, African countries and Japan. The term piment appeared in the French language in the 800s, it finds its root in the Latin word “pigmentum” which means color, but also suc (of a plant).
Varieties of chilli peppers: lantern pepper (these are very hot!)
The lantern pepper is the strongest of all. It is really fearsome, so much so that we avoid touching it with our fingers (it would be very painful if we rubbed our eyes afterwards…!). It can be eaten green or red, or mixed. It is commonly found in the West Indies, in Guyana and in all the Caribbean. It is also cultivated in equatorial Africa, where it is very appreciated: it is an excellent condiment, very strong in spice, but also in flavor. It is said to be very good for your health, but it should not be abused either! It is also called West Indian pepper.
The latest among spices, chilli pepper is still one of the most consumed in the world today, especially in hot regions. Consumed in moderation, it is attributed various medical properties (antiseptic, diuretic, etc…) and even aphrodisiacs.
We propose you a hot pepper puree, natural or with ginger, with a taste very close to natural chilli pepper to accompany your daily and festive meals.
For those who like to eat spicy food, you are served!
Refrigerate after opening.

Chili peppers are a great way to add flavour and spice to dishes, without adding extra calories or fat. Depending on the colour and variety of pepper, they can be a source of vitamin A, C and E and potassium.
Here's how a few of the most popular peppers compare:
per pepper (14g)
Serrano/ per pepper
Banana/ per peppers
Vitamin A (IU)
Vitamin C (mg)
Vitamin E (mg)
Chili peppers get their heat from capsaicin, a natural compound that affects the pain receptors in the mouth and throat. Capsaicin has five separate chemical components contributing to its heat; three give an immediate sensation on the throat and tongue, while the other two cause a slower, longer-lasting hotness. The highest concentration of capsaicin is found in the white ribs and seeds of the pepper - these can be removed to reduce the pepper's hotness.
Not only does capsaicin give peppers their heat, they have also been touted to have some health benefits. Preliminary laboratory studies have linked capsaicin to being a potential cure for type 1 diabetes, lowering the risk of prostate cancer by destroying cancer cells, and most recently as published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry - it may even play a role in halting fat cell growth.
There are many varieties of chili peppers that range in size, shape, colour and most of all in taste - ranging from mild to extremely hot.
Capsaicin content can vary widely in peppers, and as a result a scale has been developed to describe the pain to your palette.
The capsaicin content is measured in Scoville units - an indication of how hot a pepper is. Â For instance, sweet bell peppers have a zero value, while a habenero has a whopping 100,000 to 300,000 units!
Here is a list of some peppers, in order from mildest to hottest...
New Mexico : 500-1000
Jalapeno: 2500 - 5000
Serrano: 10,000 - 23,000
Cayenne: 30,000 - 50,000
Scotch Bonnet: 100,000 - 250,000
Habanero: 100,000 - 300,000
Pure capsaicin: 16 million...ouch!

But from personal experience I'll warn you to do this in small amounts: My tongue, fingers, and nose are still getting over the capsaicin burns.
When pairing you want to draw attention to common flavors in the chili and chocolate, or make a contrast between light and heavy ones. For example: You can increase the smokey character of some chocolates by including some smoked chipotle chili. Or you can lighten up a deep, ruddy chocolate with a brighter chile. You may want to complement one fruity flavor with another, or combine a citrusy chocolate with an herby chili. Chilies and chocolate bring out each other's richness; considered pairings balance that richness and make it more complex.
This is a situation where grinding your own chilies, while not essential, is a huge help. (This is my grinder, and we have a very special relationship.) The just-ground flavor of chilies is substantially different, and since we're doing culinary nitpicking here, those nuances matter. Plus, grinding whole chilies allows you to decide how much of the capsaicin-loaded membranes you want to include. Below is a list of common (and some not-so-common) dried chilies that I think pair well with chocolate. They're ordered (roughly) from light, fresh, and bright to deep and dark, with some tasting notes and paring suggestions.
- Aji panca: Very light and berry-like, with a good kick. Tastes almost like blueberries. I found it best with lighter and berry-like chocolates so its fruity nuances don't get covered up, though it's also very good with acidic chocolate (see below).
- Aleppo: Fresh-tasting and oily, acidic and light but complex and zesty. Great with nutty chocolates.
- Guajillo: Commonly sold as New Mexico. Ruddy and bold, perhaps the most "peppery." Another great contrast for roasted chocolate flavors, though with a deeper and fuller chili flavor and feel than aleppo. Its bite also compliments floral or light berry flavors. This is may favorite all-purpose chili for chocolate.
- Ancho: The classic moderate chili. Good for more muted chili flavor as it's less intense than guajillo. Use a milder herbal or citrusy chocolate for something reminiscent of mole.
- Cascabel: Coffee-like, almost tannic.

- 1 What red chillies are used in Indian cooking?
- 2 What are Indian peppers called?
- 3 Is Carolina Reaper found in India?
- 4 Is Jalapeno spicy for Indians?
- 5 Which chilli is best?
- 6 What pepper makes Indian food spicy?
- 7 Do Indians use peppers?
- 8 What is the world’s hottest pepper?
- 9 Are green chiles the same as poblano peppers?
- 10 Can Carolina Reaper kill you?
- 11 What are the top 20 hottest peppers?
- 12 Is the Dragon’s Breath pepper real?
- 13 Which jalapeno is spicy?
- 14 What is jalapeno called in India?
- 15 What is the spiciest thing in the world?
What red chillies are used in Indian cooking?
The Hot Red Indian These include Bird’s eye chilli (dhani), Byadagi (kaddi and daggi), Ellachipur Sannam, Guntur Sannam, Hindpur, Jwala, Kanthari White, Kashmiri Chilli, Madhya Pradesh Sannam, Madras Puri, Nagpur, Nalchetti, Ramnad Mundu, Sangli Sannam, Sattur, Mundu, Tadappally and Tomato Chilli.
What are Indian peppers called?
Indian Green Chili Peppers Hari Mirch is the Hindi word for green chili, where “Hari = green” and “Mirch = chili”. Fresh, slender Indian green chiles are used in curries, stews, pickled or eaten raw as a condiment. The white spongy membrane of the green chili near the seeds, also called placenta, carries that heat.
Is Carolina Reaper found in India?
The Carolina Reaper is said to be a cross between Sweet Habanero and Naga Viper chillies. And, the crossbreed may have an Indian connection, too. The Naga Viper was created by an English chilli farmer. The Carolina Reaper was certified as the world’s hottest chili pepper by the Guinness World Records in the year 2013.
Is Jalapeno spicy for Indians?
Yes, they are. Are they very spicy? No, at least not on average. I love jalapenos and even use them in place of green bell pepper (capsicum) in many recipes.
Which chilli is best?

Tabasco, aji and cayenne start to reach real heat, at 30,000-50,000 Scoville units. Tabasco peppers are unique: they are only grown in a small area in Louisiana. The McIlheny company that makes the smoky, delightful Tabasco sauce also makes a delicious (albeit milder) green jalapeño sauce and a very tasty tabasco-habanero sauce that combines the two flavours very nicely. Sadly, the red Tabasco, delicious as it is, constitutes about 95 per cent of the choices in hot sauce in this and most North American communities. Which says a lot about us, doesn't it? I consume an industrial-size Tabasco bottle every month, which I suppose says a lot about me.
But even the tangy Tabasco doesn't turn the heads of real pepper aficionados, except perhaps as a dessert topping. They want more heat: the sharp bite of the Thai pepper (50,000-100,000 units) is where it starts. That's in the same neighbourhood as the tiny pequin, the chiltepin and the red Amazon (both 75,000).
It doesn't get really exciting until you reach the Jamaican Hot, Scotch Bonnet and the revered Habanero. All of these start at around 100,000 Scovilles, but the Habanero can push into the truly stratospheric, past 350,000. That's what you get in zingy sauces like Dave's Insanity Sauce, which as far as I can tell is about one step below weapons-grade pepper spray (although I have yet to taste his latest sauce which promises even hotter levels of tastebud hell).
The hottest pepper ever tested was a Red Savina Habanero, which boasted an incredible 577,000 Scovilles in 1995. You wear oven mitts when preparing these babies. You don't eat them, you worship them from afar.
Most Mexican food, as well as most Mexican table sauces (like Buffalo or Taijin), aren't really very hot at all. When I asked for salsa picante in Zihua, I usually got a bottle of American-made Tabasco! Or worse, ketchup... You have to sometimes convince local restaurateurs that you can handle the hot stuff. Then they will bring out bowls of delicious, spicy red and green salsa to your table.

In 2000, India's Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) reported a rating of 855,000 SHUs, and in 2004 a rating of 1,041,427 SHUs was made using HPLC analysis. For comparison, Tabasco red pepper sauce rates at 5000–10,000, and pure capsaicin (the chemical responsible for the pungency of pepper plants) rates at 16,000,000 SHUs.
In 2005, at New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute near Las Cruces, New Mexico, Regents Professor Paul Bosland found bhut jolokia grown from seed in southern New Mexico to have a Scoville rating of 1,001,304 SHUs by HPLC.
The effect of climate on the heat of these peppers is dramatic. A 2005 study comparing percentage availability of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in bhut jolokia peppers grown in Tezpur (Assam), showed the heat of the pepper is decreased by over 50% in Gwalior's more arid climate. Elsewhere in India, scientists at Manipur University measured its average Scoville rating by HPLC at only 329,100 SHUs.
Ripe peppers measure 60 to 85 mm (2.4 to 3.3 in) long and 25 to 30 mm (1.0 to 1.2 in) wide with a red, yellow, orange, or chocolate color. The unselected strain of bhut jolokia from India is an extremely variable plant, with a wide range in fruit sizes and fruit production per plant, and offers a huge potential for developing much better strains through selection in the future. Bhut jolokia pods are unique among peppers, with their characteristic shape, and very thin skin. However, the red fruit variety has two different fruit types, the rough, dented fruit and the smooth fruit. The images on this page show the smooth fruit form. The rough fruit plants are taller, with more fragile branches, and the smooth fruit plants yields more fruit, and is a more compact plant with sturdier branches.
Bhut jolokia is used as a food and a spice, as well as a remedy to summer heat.

Which Chili Peppers Are Mild?
Most people like a little bit of heat to their chili, but we’re not all suited for super-spicy flavor. For those who want the flavor of chili peppers but want to avoid the heat, there are milder peppers you can use in chili recipes. Here are a few of the mildest peppers you can incorporate into your cooking:
- Banana Peppers: These are a great way to add a mild kick of spice to your food. Banana peppers can be found anywhere, and they’re even a popular sub and salad topper.
- Cubanelles: Cubanelles get their names from the Cuban cuisine they’re used in. They add a sweet and mild taste.
- Poblanos: These peppers are called anchos when they’re dried, and they’re included in a lot of chili recipes. To try them out, order a chile relleno, which is a stuffed and fried poblano.
- Anaheim Peppers: This New Mexican chili pepper is really mild, and it’s often roasted and used in enchilada sauce and Tex-Mex dishes.

How hot are fresh chili peppers?
Pure capsaicin, the stuff that makes chili peppers hot, is rated between 15 – 16,000,000 Scoville heat units. This is incredibly HOT.
What is the mildest chili pepper?
The mildest peppers such as sweet bell peppers and cherry peppers are at the bottom of the Scoville scale. In the middle are peppers like Serrano, yellow hot wax peppers, and red cayenne peppers. At the hottest end of the heat scale are the Habanero and the Scotch Bonnet.
What are the top 20 hottest peppers?
En Fuego: Top 20 Spiciest Peppers In The World
- 8 7 Pot Chili.
- 7 Gibraltar Naga.
- 6 Infinity Chili.
- 5 Naga Viper.
- 4 Chocolate 7 Pot.
- 3 Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.
- 2 Moruga Scorpion.
- 1 Carolina Reaper.
Is 8000 Scoville hot?
What are Scoville Heat Units? … The sweet bell pepper is the mildest of the hot peppers at zero SHU while the jalapeno is in the 2,500 – 8,000 SHU range and the mighty Habanero is much hotter in the 100,000 – 500,000 SHU range. Pure Capsaicin tops the scale at 15,000,000 – 16,000,000 SHU.
When should I pick my chili peppers?
Chilli peppers are generally ready for harvesting from mid-summer, and will continue fruiting well into autumn if grown in a greenhouse. Picking regularly, using a sharp knife or secateurs, encourages plants to produce more fruit. Leaving chillies to ripen fully (usually to red) will suppress further fruit production.
What is the best tasting chili pepper?
In talking with many pepper enthusiasts, we’ve found the Habanero to be universally considered to be one of the best tasting peppers. It’s flesh holds up to and absorbs smoking well.

In Mexican cooking, chilies take on the role of the many spices.
It was in Grand Central Market in Los Angeles that I realised why Mexican cuisine would always find it hard to take off in India. LA signifies Hollywood for most of us, but it is in places like the Market that you realise what a deeply Hispanic city it is. Unlike the standard film images of wide boulevards filled with cars but few pedestrians, the streets to the Market’s side are packed with shoppers from across Latin America, but most of all Mexico which is, after all, not far to the South in Baja California.
The Market is where many of the shoppers go to eat. Grand Central is a wonderful space, an example of how you can clean up a place like Crawford Market in Mumbai without gentrifying it, but still retaining its identity as a living market connected to a local community. It is filled with shops selling produce from across Latin America and stalls where people can sit to eat the same produce fresh cooked. And looking at the food on offer it is hard not to be struck, as Octavio Paz, the Mexican poet, Nobel laureate and onetime diplomat posted in Delhi was, by how similar it seems to Indian food.
In his book In Light of India, Paz writes that the flavours were close, but what differed was how the food was served: in courses in Mexico, all at once on a thali in India. I’m not entirely sure I agree with him about the flavours, but what is close is the structure of food. Griddle cooked flatbreads like tortillas or chappatis accompany highly flavourful stews where legumes make up for a lack of meat. Other similarities include piloncilo, unrefined Mexican sugar which is just like jaggery, or tamales, steamed dough cakes that resemble kadubu, the idli-like rice cakes that are steamed in jackfruit leaves.
Yet all these similarities are set aside by one profound difference which I could see on the stalls heaped high with all the different chiles used in Mexican food. These were both fresh chiles and the same ones dried and sometimes smoked in ways that change them so completely they are treated as separate kinds. For example, fresh jalapenos, one of the hotter chillies, become chipotles when smoke-dried, which have a smoky heat.

But you can also add in caramelized onions, jalepenos, green chiles, beans, and more!
How much seasoning is in a taco packet?
How much taco seasoning is in a packet? A typical package contains 1 ounce/ 2 tablespoons of seasoning mix. Simply substitute 2 tablespoons of this Taco Seasoning in any recipe calling for one package of seasoning.
Is cumin a herb or spice?
Cumin, also spelled cummin, (Cuminum cyminum), small, slender annual herb of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) with finely dissected leaves and white or rose-coloured flowers.
What is the difference between Tex Mex and authentic Mexican food?
Typically, when you say Mexican food, you are referring to the cuisine of an entire country from different regions. However, when you say authentic Mexican food, you just want cuisines that use only Mexican ingredients. On the other hand, Tex-Mex is a type of Mexican food with a narrower set of base ingredients.
Is cumin authentic Mexican spice?
Along with chili peppers, the seasoning most people tend to reach to when making “Mexican” food is cumin. However, cumin is not a traditional Mexican spice. Cumin was introduced to chili con carne in San Antonio, and was another staple used to set the cuisine apart from the food found south of the border.
What are the 3 main ingredients used in most Mexican cooking?
3 Main Ingredients Used in Mexican Cooking
- Corn (maize) Popol Vuh, which is the sacred book of the Mayas, says that men were made of corn.
- Chili. In Mexican cuisine, the use of chili is a must, it is an ingredient that gives the dishes a very distinctive flavor and challenges the taste of the brave.
How do you make a Mexican dish taste better?
Here are 10 Mexican spices to spike up your meals with recipes from the Food Monster App.
- Cumin. Advertisement.
- Garlic Powder.
- Mexican Oregano.
- Onion Power.
- Coriander (or Cilantro)
- Chili Powder.
Why do Mexicans like spicy food?
Originally Answered: Why do Mexicans like spicy food? Cuisine tends to be spicy in hot climates that are favorable for bacterial growth. Spice in food inhibits bacteria in human bodies, and so this natural defense against pathogens in hot climates emerged in cuisine.

|Scoville scale||100,000–350,000 SHU|
The habanero (/( ) /; Spanish: [aβaˈneɾo] (listen)) is a hot variety of chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) long. Habanero chilis are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero's heat, flavor and floral aroma make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
The name indicates something or someone from La Habana (Havana). In English, it is sometimes incorrectly spelled habañero and pronounced /( ) /, the tilde being added as a hyperforeignism patterned after jalapeño.
Origin and use
The habanero chili comes from the Amazon, from which it was spread, reaching Mexico. A specimen of a domesticated habanero plant, dated at 8,500 years old, was found at an archaeological site in Peru. An intact fruit of a small domesticated habanero, found in pre-ceramic levels in Guitarrero Cave in the Peruvian highlands, was dated to 6500 BC.
The habanero chili was disseminated by Spanish colonists to other areas of the world, to the point that 18th-century taxonomists mistook China for its place of origin and called it Capsicum chinense ("the Chinese pepper").
Today, the largest producer is the Yucatán Peninsula, in Mexico. Habaneros are an integral part of Yucatecan food, accompanying most dishes, either in natural form or purée or salsa. Other modern producers include Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and parts of the United States, including Texas, Idaho, and California.
The Scotch bonnet is often compared to the habanero, since they are two varieties of the same species, but they have different pod types. Both the Scotch bonnet and the habanero have thin, waxy flesh. They have a similar heat level and flavor.

There’s lots more information on chile peppers at the Chile Pepper Institute, a program of New Mexico State University.

Image from here.
If someone would have told me 10 years ago that my kitchen would now be stocked with the likes of jalapenos, serranos, Anaheims, Poblanos, and (sometimes) habaneros, I would have thought she was crazy. I also would have asked her why she decided to travel back in time to tell me what my fridge would contain in the year 2009. Shouldn't she, instead, have been inventing Wikipedia? Or warning us to not purchase a 4-million dollar home if we had $26 in the bank? Thanks, hypothetical future-chick.
The truth is, I used to be scared to death of chiles. Having grown up in a Midwestern town where the only option for Mexican food prior to 1996 was Taco Bell, my palette wasn't assimilated to the pop and spice and fizzle that only real chiles can administer. If I wanted spice back then, I would have resorted to a few extra dashes of black pepper in my mashed potatoes. In the '90s, black pepper was as far as I would go in terms of spice.
I only began to learn about the true power and glory of chiles while living in Cordoba, Argentina back in 2001. The cuisine of the Argentine pampas is about as picante-less as the Midwest: It's mostly beef. And potatoes. And more beef. The food of Cordoba is delicious as hell, don't get me wrong--I never had a real steak until I sunk my teeth into the tough-but-flavorful beef of Cordoba. The pampas are, after all, still gaucho territory. (Thank God!) However, if one craves a spicy plate in Cordoba, chances are she'll be disappointed.
As were my Mexican friends to whom I grew very close while living in Argentina: Mayra, Erika, Yazmin, and Mariluz. They taught me many necessary cultural tricks of the trade, and I sometimes felt like I was learning more about Mexico than Argentina! Erika taught me how to flirt with boys in Mexican-Spanish. Mariluz taught me how to hike in high heels. Yazmin taught me how to add -ito and -ita to my nouns to make them sound cuter.

The habanero (/ˌ(h)ɑːbəˈnɛəroʊ/; Spanish: is a hot variety of chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) long. Habanero chilies are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero's heat, flavor and floral aroma make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
CHEF TIP: I think they almost have a peachy flavor profile. You can always take a small bite from the tip of the chile pepper to taste without the high heat hitting your tongue.
Thai chili plant is a perennial with small, tapering fruits, often two or three, at a node. The fruits are very pungent.
The bird's eye chili is small, but is quite hot (piquant). It measures around 50,000 - 100,000 Scoville units, which is at the lower half of the range for the hotter habanero, but still much hotter than a common jalapeño.
An Anaheim pepper is a mild variety of the cultivar 'New Mexico No. 9' and commonly grown outside of New Mexico. It is related to the 'New Mexico No. 6 and 9', but when grown out of state they have a higher variability rate. The name 'Anaheim' derives from Emilio Ortega, a farmer who brought the seeds from New Mexico to the Anaheim, California, area in 1894.
The chile "heat" of 'Anaheim' varies from 500 to 2,500 on the Scoville scale.
Sweet and not hot at all, zero. Very nice to use to round of the heat from the chile peppers.
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum. A mature jalapeño chili is 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of 25–38 mm (1.0–1.5 in) wide.

This strange new world of chili fanatics has fueled a multimillion-dollar hot sauce industry hawking products with names like Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Sauce, Blair’s Possible Side Effects, Rectal Rocket, and hundred-dollar bottles of pure capsaicin crystals capable of delivering sixteen million Scoville units. These were not the sort of people to just accept the idea that millions of people in a third-world country had been quietly besting them for generations, consuming the world’s hottest chilis more or less for free.
Skeptical chiliologists insinuated that the Indian research was flawed. They deplored the “constant nationalistic tone” of the scientists, who were, as it happens, working for India’s Defense Research Laboratories. Worst of all, they intimated that the Tezpur chili wasn’t Indian at all, just another variant of Capsicum chinense. (What don’t they make in China these days?)
Actually, Capsicum chinense is not Chinese. All chili pepper species derive from South or Central America; the term chili comes from the Nahuatl Chi-li. (Apparently the Aztecs had a glyph for it, too.) But the nomenclature of chiliology is littered with geographical confusions and nonsequiturs that go directly back to the origins of the New World — Columbus sailing west to find the Indies (and pepper) and stumbling upon the Americas (and chilis) instead. His first taste came in 1492, among the Taino. He enjoyed “ají, which is their pepper which is more valuable than black pepper, and all the people eat nothing else, it being very wholesome.” A hundred years later, the English herbalist John Gerard was still confused about the name: recommending the cultivation of chili plants in hot horse manure in his Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes, he calls it “Piper Indianum or Indicum or sometimes Piper Calicuthium or Piper Hispanicum… in low French Poivre d’Inde, very well known in the shops at Billingsgate by Ginnie Pepper, where it is usually bought.” Capsicum chinense, meanwhile, got its name from an eighteenth-century Dutch botanist, who thought the Caribbean chili seeds he was working with had come from China.

When fresh, it has a mild flavor, and is used primarily for color. When old, it is just flavorless red dust. The McCormick spice people say that, pound for pound, paprika has a more Vitamin C than citrus fruit.
Then there’s hot paprika, which has some hot peppers in the blend. There’s also smoked sweet paprika and smoked hot paprika. They are made from peppers that are slowly dried in the presence of hardwood smoke, and they are easy to make at home. Just smoke hot red peppers at a low temp, preferably about 225°F for four to six hours until dry enough to grind. I usually remove the stem, split it lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. This helps it dry faster and gets more smoke to the party. Show some style and make a blend of sweet red pepper and hot red pepper, and throw out that store bought dust.
How hot is that chile?
Peppers start green and as they ripen turn red, orange, yellow, or purple as they ripen. In general the smaller the chile the hotter, the greener, the hotter, the skinnier, the hotter. The most notable exceptions to the rule are the habanero and the Scotch bonnet, both of which are broad shouldered, medium sized, orange or red, and very very hot. Recent research indicates chiles are hotter when grown in hot humid climates.
The amount of heat in a chile pepper is measured on a culinary Richter scale called the Scoville Heat Units (SHU) scale. One part per million of capsaicin is equivalent to 15 Scoville units. About 85% of the capsaicin in a chile pepper is concentrated in the ribs on the inside of the pepper, about 10% is in the seeds, and 5% in the meat and the skin. This means that you can get the flavor of a jalapeño, for example, without the heat, by removing the seeds and ribs. Measuring SHU is not very precise. To measure SHU, peppers are dried, ground, and mixed with alcohol to produce an oil extract. The oil is diluted with water and sugar and tasted. The Scoville measurement is the level of dilution where tasters can no longer sense the heat.

Measuring Chilli Heat
Frothy, unique and / or spicey shots such as magnificent hot chocolate,smoothies andcocktailsare presented amount as well as oomph if chilli can be applied in the mix. Although you will find risque sauces not to mention condiments you possibly can make from home, often it’s advisable to buy. Chilli noggin marinade, gochujang, habanero, kimchi, Frank’s RedHot, Sriracha in addition to Red pepper, and others, include a distinctive relish which can be a challenge that will animate during home. Refreshing chillies will continue to keep to get a little while while in the fridge.
- We will see some sort of Hombre participating in a guitar, and you will be drinking Tequila, choosing Limes, trying to play after some Chihuahua and have a relatively tastes about especially very hot Fills and Red pepper Sauce.
- Size contrast, and yet the most sexy habanero may well appear in located at 500,000 Scoville units.
- Of your house Chrissy Teigen, Anderson Paak, Ricky Gervais and even Natalie Portman while in the couch, this talks having Evans normally start off courteously more than enough accompanied by a pretty heated wing.
- Stay updated yearly year or two like further researching on about this hot not to mention spicy explore system.
- By using probable rewards want being able to help through weight reduction and then murdering cancer malignancy cells, spicy foodstuff only will get healthier not to mention better.
Hence it makes sense to help you grab a specific thing wintry — so long as it’s not actually water. Chile peppers makes the jump provided by capsaicin. It’s thought to be have maxi-princess.com got started in your Yucatan and possesses a bit of a lemon or lime flavor to make sure you it. These bhut jolokia might be erroneous for that habanero, you knows the primary difference at the time you little bit to one.
The actual Suitable Chilli For Chinese Dishes
But, just after 90 years days on the subject of poor, I still realize its way too watery designed for my personal taste, and that’s exactly the actual cause of three rather than all 5 stars.