FoodieSphere

Thursday, February 10, 2005

So you don't know a Jalapeño from a hot banana pepper?

It is remarkable how many different varieties of chile peppers there are. They vary in size, colour, and flavour with the level of heat being measured in Scoville heat units. The higher the number of Scoville heat units, the hotter the pepper. Chiles may be called different names depending on the grower, retailer, and the area in which they are grown. Here are a few of the more popular varieties.

Types of chile peppers:

Ancho/Poblano: The most commonly used dried pepper. Ancho peppers are simply poblano peppers that are dried amd are known for their rich fruity flavour and mild heat.

Cayenne: This pepper starts out green, and then ripens to yellow, orange and red. Green cayenne peppers appear in the summer, while hotter red cayenne peppers come out in the autumn. Cayenne peppers are often dried and powdered as a seasoning.

Cherry Pepper: Mildly hot with a sweet taste and is considered a good garden pepper that can be used for processing and pickling.

Habanero: This extremely hot chile has a fruity flavour and is often used in salsas or chutneys.

Hot Banana Pepper: Also known as Hungarian hot wax pepper. It is banana-shaped, 4-6 inches long. This is a tasty pepper suitable for stuffing.

Jalapeño: A small, fairly hot green pepper used sparingly in Mexican dishes, salsas, guacamole and salad dressings.

New Mexican or Anaheim: Mildly hot green pepper; slim ranging between 5 and 8 inches long and sometimes twisted in appearance.

Pasilla Bjio: A very small hot pepper that dries to a dark brown, wrinkled pod with a berry rich smoky flavour.

Pepperoncini: This small, crunchy, golden pepper is perfect whole as part of an antipasto platter or sliced as salad toppers. They're also great sliced into cold pasta dishes.

Scotch Bonnet: This tiny pepper is one if not the hottest pepper in the world. It's native to the Caribbean and can be found in the local cuisine.

Serrano: This long, skinny and pointy chile is very hot...slightly hotter than a jalapeno pepper. Serrano peppers come in several colours from greens to red?s often used in both Mexican cuisine as well as Asian cuisine.

Thai Pepper: Another very hot bullet shaped, small, red and green chile. Commonly used in Asian curries and condiments.

Tabasco Greenleaf: This hot pepper matures from greenish yellow to orange to red; uniquely smoky flavour and good fresh or dried in spicy Asian or Cajun cuisine.

Your local food store probably has a small selection, and you can find lots more at farmers' markets or check out our listing of spice shops below.

Posted by Ant @ 09:16 | Permalink | Comments (0)