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Chili Names and Identifying Characteristics
Name
Hotness
Description
Comments
FRESH CHILIES
Jalapeño
Hot to very hot in
Mexico. Mild to
medium hot in
U.S.
Dark, nearly black-green, thick-
fleshed, smooth-skinned, stubby
with rounded tip. Sometimes
available bright red. 2½-3" long, 1"
wide. (6-7 cm, 2½ cm)
Most common chili specified in
recipes. Commercial pickled chilies
are often made from these.
Dark green, smooth-skinned, shiny.
Red when ripe. 1½-2" long, ½"
wide (4-5 cm, 1½ cm).
Serrano
Fresno
Very hot.
Similar to jalapeño but smaller,
narrower, more pointed tip and less
fleshy.
Mild to hot
Mildly pungent
Small, triangular-shaped, yellow
with smooth waxy surface. 2½"
long and 1" wide (6 cm, 2½ cm)
When red ripe, can be mistaken for
jalapeño, but Fresno is broader at
shoulder.
(
in Mexican cookbooks)
chili caribe or chile cera
Poblano (pasilla only in
California)
Fleshy, shiny triangular-shaped dark Looks like small bell pepper but flesh
green to black-green, turning red or
brown when ripe. 3-5" long and 3"
wide at stem end (7½-12½ cm, 7½
cm).
is thinner. Commonly used for chili
relleno. Not used raw.
Anaheim (variety of New Mild or slightly hot Bright green maturing to red or
Used in chile relleno. Can substitute
Mexico)
brownish-red. Long and skinny with for New Mexico, Texas or California
thin flesh, almost same width long green chilies. When dried it is
throughout length, blunt or slightly called chili seco or chile colorado.
pointed end, no shoulder at stem Used in red chili wreaths (ristras).
end. 6" long and 2-2½" wide (15
cm, 5-6 cm) .
Habanero
Hottest chili on
earth
Yellow-green, when ripe red, these
come in beautiful shades of orange,
yellow, red or nearly white. Small
Originally cultivated in Cuba (that is
how it was named). Popular in
Mexico, spreading to U.S. Ones
and flat, bell-shaped, lantern-shaped grown on Yucatàn Peninsula are
or almost round, with thin, crinkly
skins. 1½-2" long, 1-2" wide (4-5
cm, 2½-5 cm).
hottest.
Cayenne
Very hot
Usually sold ripe red, sometimes
green. Long and slender with
wrinkled skin and irregular shape.
2
1
-6" long, ¼-½" wide (5-15 cm, ½-
½ cm).
Hungarian wax (banana
pepper)
Fairly hot to very
hot
Pale yellow, waxy, thick-fleshed,
conical-shaped, tapering to blunt tip. also grown.
Non-pungent varieties of this one are
3-6" long, 1-2" wide (7½-15 cm,
2½-5 cm).
Cherry
Sweet or slightly
hot
Thick-skinned, cherry-shaped, green Used almost entirely for pickled
to red with smooth, shiny skins. <1" peppers. Not used fresh and don't dry
long, 1¼-1½" wide (<2.5 cm, 3-4 well. Looks much like cascabel when
cm). dry.
Pepperoncini
DRY CHILIES
Almost no
pungency
Green or red, elongated curving,
cylindrical shape, pointed end, think fresh, never dried.
wrinkled skin. 3-5" long, 3/4" wide
at shoulder (7½-12½ cm, 2 cm).
Often used in pickles. Rarely used
play © erdosh 145
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