Title: Chile Peppers Varieties
Categories: Info Vegetable
Yield: 1 Servings

VARIETIES OF CHILE PEPPERS

ANAHEIM: A generic name for several long green chiles, they are a fairly mild chile. Originally these chiles were New Mexican in origin and later grown in California, around Anaheim, although they are no longer a significant crop in that region. The preferred name, "New Mexico," is now used instead of "Anaheim." When dried, they are sometimes called "chile colorado."

ANCHO: Also "pasilla" and "mulato." A dark reddish brown, slightly hot, dried "poblano." Measures 1000-1500 Scoville Units. The name in Spanish means "wide chile."

BANANA PEPPER: Also, "sweet banana." Very mild, yellow, often pickled. Measures 0 Scoville Units.

CAYENNE: Peppers from the Cayenne Island, French Guiana. Measures 30,000-50,000 Scoville Units.

CHILACA: Mildly hot to hot, this is often used in soups and sauces. When dried, it is called "pasilla" or "chile negro." Measures 1,000-1,500 Scoville Units.

CHIPOTLE: A dried jalape¤o, this is very hot brown chile. Also called "chile ahumado" or "chile meco." Measures 2,500-5,000 Scoville Units.

DeARBOL: Extremely hot, measuring 15,000-30,000 Scoville Units. The name is Spanish means "treelike." The de arbol pepper is usually ground into a powder or used to season oils, soups, and and sauces.

FRESNO: A mild chile, cone-shaped, mainly cultivated in the United States. It goes under the more general name "New Mexico." It is often used in salsas.

GUAJILLO: Very hot, grown in Mexico but imported. When dried it is called mirasol or erroneously, "dried Anaheim." Measures 2,500-5,000 Scoville Units.

HABANERO: Extremely hot yellow-orange pepper. The name is Spanish for "Havana-like," possibly referring to the chile's origins in Havan, Cuba. IN Jamaica it is known as "Scotch bonnet" or "Scot's Bonnet" and "Bahamian" or "Bahamian Mama" in the Bahamas. It belongs to the C. chinese species. It is commonly used in sauces and barbecue recipes. Measures 200,000-300,000 Scoville Units.

JALAPE¥O: Green, about two inches long, hot. The most widely consumed chile in the United States. Dried jalape¤os. Commercially, jalape¤os cut into slices are sometimes called "NACHO slices" or " nacho rings," for use on nachos. Measures 2,500-5,000 Scoville Units.

NEW MEXICO: Both green and red, dried and roasted chiles, formerly called "Anaheim", but now descriptive of various strains originally grown in New Mexico. The main varieties include "NuMex Big Jim," "New Mexico No. 6-4," and "Espa¤ola Improved." new Mexico chiles make up 50 percent of all chiles grown in the United States. 100-1,000 Scoville Units.

PASILLA: A wrinkled, dark brown chilaca chile, whos Spanish name means "little raisin." It is fairly milk, measuring 1,000-1,500 Scoville Units, and is mainly used as a powder to flavor mole dishes. In California it is often (erroneously) called the "Anaheim".

PEQUIN: Also, "piquin," "ciltepin," "bird pepper," "chile mesquito," and "chile bravo." Very hot dried pepper, usually canned. This small pepper probably takes its Spanish name from peque¤o, "small." It is usually crushed and put into soups or sauces. Measures 50,000-100,000 Scoville Units.

PIMIENTO: Also, "pimento." A sweet, quite mild pepper like the bell pepper.

POBLANO: Fairly hot, large dark green pepper. It is the fresh ancho. Measures 1,000-1,500 Scoville Units.

SERRANO: Long, slim, very hot chile, sold green. The name is from the Spanish for "from the mountains," referring to their origins in the Mexican mountains of northern Puebla and Hidalo. The main varieties include the "Balin," the "Tipico," and the "Largo." The "Hidalgo," bred in 1985 by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, has become very popular in the United States. The serrano is most often used in fresh salsas. Measures 10,000-23,000 Scoville Units.

Source: The Dictionary of American Food and Drink 1994

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