Perhaps the chief misconception about chili peppers is their red-hot reputation. Many are fiery hot, but many others are sweet, mild, or richly flavored. Their hotness is concentrated in the interior veins or ribs near the seed heart, not in the seeds as is commonly believed (the seeds taste extra hot because they are in close contact with the hot veins). If, when the pepper is cut open, the veins have a yellowish orange color in that area, it usually indicates the pepper will be a potent one.

That the burning sensation that makes chili peppers so appealing to culinary thrill-seekers comes from capsaicin or more accurately a collection of compounds called capsaicinoids. These develop in the placenta or cross-ribs of the fruit, which is why that part of the chili pepper is the hottest. A single dominant gene transmits capsaicinoids. Bell peppers are just like jalapeno peppers and Serrano peppers but bell peppers taste bland instead of pungent because they lack that gene.

In 1912, a pharmacist named Scoville came up with a heat index for measuring the “heat” in a chili product, or scoring capsaicinoid content. This index was called the Scoville Units and is still used today.  A more modern version used by many chile writers is called “the Official Chile Pepper Heat Scale” with a rating of zero to ten.  Bell peppers rate a zero because they contain no capsaicinoid. At a 5 rating: jalapeno peppers…at a 6 rating serrano peppers… at a 8 rating cayenne peppers and Tabasco peppers… and at a 9 rating chalet pin peppers and Thai hot peppers.

The spelling of the word "chili" is used here as it is used in Mexico. Because American spice companies label their ground chili blends "chili" you will encounter that spelling in recipes using the purchased ground spice.

More than 140 varieties of chilies peppers are grown in Mexico alone. Those that follow are most popular in the United States and used in most Mexican cooking recipes.

Recently, a chipotle dark chocolate bar and a jalapeno milk chocolate bar came on to the confectionary market - heavenly!

Descriptions

Bell peppers	Probably the most familiar pepper in the United States, the green and red bell peppers are somewhat square and fist-size. Green peppers turn red in the fall, becoming sweeter and milder, yet retaining their crisp, firm texture.
Ancho peppers	This chili looks and tastes very much like ordinary bell pepper but can be considerably more peppery at times.  Tapered rather than square, it is firmer, less crisp, more waxy-looking. It turns a bright red and sweetens up in the fall. When dry, it assumes a flat, round shape and wrinkles up like a prune.
California green chilies (Anaheim)	Fresh, these peppers are 5 to 8 inches long, 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide, tapering to a point, usually a bright, shiny green. The flavor ranges from mild and sweet to moderate hot. To use fresh peppers, peel the skin from the chilies. When using fresh or canned, taste for hotness - they can vary greatly from pepper to pepper.
Chilaca Chiles	Look and taste much like the guajillo and guayon chiles.
Chile de Arbol	Also known as the "Cola de Rata". Often dried, toasted, used to decorate Mexican dishes.
Chipotle Chiles	Made from jalapenos that have been dried and smoked. Sold both dried and canned in adobo, or a  rich smoky dark reddids-brown sauce.
Fresno chili peppers	Bright green, changing to orange and red when fully matured.  Fresno chilies have a conical shape - about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter at the stem end. They are often just labeled "hot chili peppers" when canned or bottled.
Guajillo Chiles	Smooth-skin, brick or cranberry red chiles, a bit spicier than anchos and not as sweet. Because of their tangy brightness, they are often powdered over fruit or vegetables or added to stews and soups.
Jalapeno chili peppers	These peppers have thicker flesh, darker green color, and more cylindrical shape than Fresno chilies; however, the heat level of the two varieties is about the same - HOT!  Canned and bottled peppers are sometimes labeled "hot peppers" with jalapeno as a subtitle. They are always available in sauce form such as salsa and pickled.
Mulato Chiles	Deep brown, longer and more tapered than the ancho, more pungent also. Often replaces the ancho in recipes.
Pasilla peppers	The true pasilla pepper is a long, thin pepper 7 to 12 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Pasillas turn from dark green to dark brown as they mature.
Pequin Chiles	Tiny, dried red bullets of fiery heat, adding a unique flavor to many dishes. Crumble the dried pod and add.
Pimentos	These heart-shaped chilies are purchased canned in the United States. The flesh is softer and a little sweeter than the common red bell pepper.
Poblano Chiles	Dark green, about the size of a bell pepper but tapered at one end, can be mild or hot. Often used in "Chile Rellenos"
Serrano Chiles	A small 1 ½” fresh HOT pepper. The smaller they are, the more kick they have. Most often used in Pico de Gallo. Dynamite hot is an understatement for these tiny 1-inch peppers. When new on the vine, they are rich, waxy green, changing to orange and red as they mature. They also sold canned, pickled, or packed in oil. A great source of vitamin C.
Small, whole, red dried hot chili peppers.	Labeled this way on the supermarket spice shelves, many small tapered chiles about 1 to 2 inches long are sold dried, but there is no one variety name that applies to all of them.
Yellow Chile peppers.	Many short conical-shaped yellow peppers with a waxy sheen go by this name: Santa Fe grande, caribe, banana pepper, Hungarian, Armenian way, floral gem, and gold spike. Probably most familiar are the canned pickled wax peppers. Their flavor ranges from medium-hot to hot.
Habanero peppers	To date these are the Hottest chili peppers know to man, HOT - HOT - HOT. Use extreme caution when using. Marble-shaped chili peppers, ranges in color from unripe green to full ripe red.

DID YOU KNOW.....

CAPSAICIN (Zostrix), a topical nonprescription cream, made from the seeds of hot chili peppers, is used to treat skin hypersensitivity resulting from "shingles" (Herpes Zoster). It is the only medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia.
(Article originally published in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, Nov. 1997)
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Eating spicy food and/or chile peppers can become addictive. There are many people who don't enjoy tortilla chips unless they have salsa to eat with them, there are others that can never find a salsa HOT enough for their taste. Studies have shown that, yes, eating spicy food is addicting. What happens after eating something hot, is your body nerves feel pain. These pain signals are immediately transmitted to your brain. Your brain interprets this signal and automatically releases endorphins (the body's natural pain killer). The endorphins kick in and act as a pain killer and create this temporary feeling of euphoria. Hot and spicy food lovers soon begin to crave this feeling and are hooked!


Use Caution In Handling And Storing Chile Peppers

When using fresh or dried chili peppers, wear gloves to protect your hands because the oils, capsaicin*, in the peppers can cause severe burns. Don't touch your face or eyes. If chilies do come in contact with your bare hands, wash thoroughly with soapy water. If burning persists, soak hands in a bowl of milk. When grinding dried chilies, beware of the chili dust in the air, which will irritate eyes and throats.

* Remedies for eating a pepper that is too hot for you:
Drink milk, rinsing the mouth with it while swallowing, ice cream or yogurt. Eat rice or bread which will  absorb the capsaicin. Drink tomato juice or eat a fresh lime or lemon (the acid will counter act the alkalinity of the capsaicin).

* Do not drink water - capsaicin which is an oil will not mix with water but instead will distribute to more parts of the mouth.

*What is capsaicin?
Capsaicin is the heat factor in chilies that is used medically to produce deep-heating rubs for treating sports injuries and arthritic therapies.

To Dry Your Own Chile peppers

Tie the stems onto a sturdy piece of twine, placing chilies close together and making the strand as long as you wish. Hang in dry area with the air circulating freely around the strand. In several weeks, chilies lose their brilliant hue, changing to a deep, glistening red; they will feel smooth and dry.