I do like a certain amount of heat, but I also want to be able to taste what I am eating. So I am not interested in the Carolina Reaper, but I am interested in the ingredients that we cook with, and chilies are one of the most critical in many cuisines.
Here are some salsa recipes I have posted that you might like.
- Salsa Verde Enchiladas
- Grilled Green Pepper Salsa
- Sweet Corn + Chili Salsa
- Corn Bean Pepper Lime Salsa
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Culinary Pepper-Based Spices
Capsicum fruits (including the red peppers below) have been a part of human diets since ~7,500 BCE. They are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. But right off the bat, lets make clear that chili peppers are not botanically related to black pepper (piper nigrum).
Wikipedia writes that chili peppers, from Nahuatl chīlli, are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae. Many of the most-common chili peppers are cultivars of Capsicum annuum, the most common chili of all is the jalapeño (1).
Types of Chilis
TastingTable wrote that all of the domesticated peppers we eat today fall into five species of peppers:
- Capsicum annum (containing cayenne, jalapeño, Thai peppers, poblano, and bell peppers)
- C. chinense (habanero, Scotch Bonnet)
- Capsicum frutescens (Tabasco, Piri piri peppers)
- C. baccatum (aji amarillo, Piquante peppr)
- Capsicum pubescens (Manzano peppers)
Capsaicin
Capsaicin is an alkaloid compound in peppers that gives them their heat. The higher the concentration of capsaicin, the hotter the chili. Some say that ~80% of a chili peppers heat is in its seeds and membrane, so to reduce heat remove those before chopping and adding to your dish (2).
Capsaicin increases as peppers ripen on the vine, interestingly the peppers become sweeter as well. Which means fully mature peppers, often red, tend to have more capsaicin when compared to unripe green ones. But also, it seems that the larger the chili pepper, the milder it is; so be careful of those small sneaky ones that carry a punch.
Sweet Peppers and Bell Peppers have no heat so they are used in dishes for mainly color, crunch, and their own type of sweetness. While I am not usually a fan of bell peppers, it is true, that the redder the Bell Pepper the sweeter it is.
The Scoville Scale
The heat of chili peppers are expressed as Scoville Heat units or SHU.
The Scoville scale, defined by Wikipeida, is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or “heat”) of chili peppers … based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. Although started in 1912, invented by the American pharmacologist Wilbur Scoville, there is now an organization that is continuing the measurements to this day.
Dried Vs. Fresh
As shown in the graphic above, dried chilies in Mexico are given a different name than their fresh counterparts. Rightly so, to my mind, for they taste different, and often the dried version is hotter than the fresh. Also, dried chilis are hotter than fresh ones (3).
With dried you can easily break them up into pepper flakes by using a grinder, or you can reconstitute them by soaking in water. I have some dried Ancho peppers in my pantry now, and I grind them, seeds and all.
Cultural Heat Varies
I always check when going to a Thai, Korean, or Indian restaurant: “Is this dish [insert country] hot?” I will ask. For me, I cannot take Thai, Korean or Indian chili-hot food. The most I can do in these cases is above mild, but on the low end of medium. I have eaten some “Indian Hot” food and had a real hard time between the coughing, blowing my nose, and wiping my sweaty face.
American Cuisine does not usually have the level of spice these countries use in their dishes, although there are some amazing exceptions:
- Buffalo Suicide Wings are deep fried chicken wings made with Anchor Bar Suicidal Buffalo Wing Sauce (250k – 1M SHU).
- Nashville’s Pepperfire Hot Chicken
- The Tex-Mex 5-Alarm Chile
- Cajun shrimp or shrimp Creole sauce can be hot
- Caribbean jerk chicken is a super hot, fried crispy chicken featuring thyme, allspice, and scotch bonnet (100k – 350k SHU).
Now there are hot condiments galore, extra hot salsa, chili hot sauce, and the like. But usually, you can add your own level of heat to your dish and you do not have to go out of your way to ask for mild or medium.
Decorative or Ornamental Chilies
All peppers are colorful and delightful to watch as they change hues while ripening on a vine. There are many pepper plants once can choose to add to their garden, but decorative pepper plants are not usually a culinary plant. They are appreciated for their colors and the variety of shapes they grow into.
I have been told that one of the differences between ornamental and culinary peppers is that the fruits of ornamental peppers are produced at the tips of plants while culinary peppers have their fruits hidden in the foliage. Most of them are edible but can be bitter, flat, or flavorless and very hot (4). The reason is that they have been cultivated for their bright colors and not taste. Also note, the leaves may be toxic to humans and animals, and do not plant these if you have kids or pets (5).
Some ornamental peppers, like the Sangria, are a type of capsicum that can be eaten raw or cooked and are commonly used in Spanish cuisine, with a flavor similar to a bell pepper.
We might find them sold as a decorative household or pot-planted plant. The Solanum capsicastrum (also known as Solanum pseudocapsicum, the false capsicum) and belongs in the Tomato family (the Solanaceae). This plant and fruits are toxic to humans, and Solanum capsicastrum, the Winter Cherry. So be sure the plants you are growing or eating are culinary plants (6).
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Culinary Chilis
These are the chilis I am most likely to use in my kitchen, along with some specific for certain cuisines. Hopefully, one of your favorite chilis is included here.
Shishito
I love cooking with these peppers and often do not remove any seeds or membranes as they are generally on the lower end of heat (50-200 SHU). Wikipedia notes that ~1 in 20 peppers may be hot, depending upon its growing environment. They are similar looking to Padron Pepeprs, although more wrinkled, but are not similar at all in terms of heat.
For cooking I usually take the tops off, then grill or stirfry to add their color and flavor to a dish. I think they work well with mushrooms and other delicate dishes, as they can be eaten raw if you want. To serve as a side dish, they are generally char’d or blistered; just be sure to make a slit to allow expanding air to escape if you do not decap them.
Cayenne
This spice is made from ground cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum), and there are lots of cultivators. The cayenne peppers start of green and turn red when ripe. Although most modern cayenne peppers are colored red, other varieties do exist that are colored yellow and purple for example. These are mostly sold dried or in powder form. However, most of the ground cayenne we buy is actually a mixture of a variety of peppers, so check the label.
- McCormick Ingredients: Ground Cayenne Red Pepper
- To DIY you must start with dried cayenne peppers, remove any dried stems, and the seeds. Then grind the reddish remains in a spice mill. This will produce a powder that is ready to use.
Most of the USA recipes I have seen call for the spice ground, in amounts at the 1/8t to 1/4t range, which is very little. I use cayenne a lot in bean or meat chili, a bit in spaghetti sauce, salsa, and Bloody Marys. I find this spice hot, but tolerable in flavorful stews; although this is the top SHU for my preference.
The other thing to note, is that many commercial Cayenne spice are blends of several different types of chilis and not just the Cayenne one. So keep an eye out for fakes.
Chili Powder
Chili powder was invented in Texas by German immigrant William Gebhardt in 1896 (7), or in 1870 by DeWitt Clinton also in Texas, who sold a powder called Chiltomaline (8). Either case Texas was the place and Tex-Mex cuisine grew along with the spice.
Chili powder is used in rubs, marinades, and stews. It is a blend of ground chilies and spices. Below are details from a commercial blend, and a DIY blend. Please note that I do not add garlic and onion nor salt and pepper to the blend because I use the raw plants in my cooking for aromatics, and salt and pepper varies by how I make the dish.
- McCormick Ingredients: Chili Pepper, Spices, Salt, Silicon DIoxide (to Make Free Flowing) and Garlic.
- Chili Powder Blend
- Ingredients
- 3 dried and ground ancho chilies
- 3 dried and ground guajillo chilies
- 3 dried and ground New Mexico chilies (aka Hatch)
- 1T ground cumin seeds
- 2T garlic powder
- 1T dried oregano
- 1T hot smoked paprika
- From the chili’s remove the stem and seeds, cut chili’s into small slices, and add to a heated skillet to toast ~5 minutes.
- Add the chilis to a blender and grind into a fine powder. Do not lift the lid prematurely, that powder can hurt eyes and lungs.
- Combine the chili and spices in a glass jar and give it several big shakes to mix it all up.
- Store in pantry away from light and heat, keep dry.
- Ingredients
Gochugaru
Red chili peppers called taeyangcho, and are the primary hot pepper in gochugaru. The gochugaru is a coarsely ground taeyangcho, it is a Korean chili powder made from sun-dried peppers (sans seeds). The kind of gochugaru in my kitchen is mild, but you can get hotter versions. I primarily use this to assure my dish is vibrant red be it chili or Tteokbokki.
Often I use this powder with a Korean chili paste called Gochujang; it is made with this same chili and other ingredients.
Paprika
Paprika is made from ripe and red fruit pods of less pungent varieties of mild chilis. Then they are dried and ground into a power. In Europe, the spice is NOT made from red Bell Peppers, which are mainly used as a vegetable in the USA, but are closely related to mild sweet red peppers that are part of the Capsicum annum species. (Although you could make your own paprika with red Bell Peppers if you like.) Paprika is typically made from the sweeter type peppers, milder varieties that contain a recessive gene that reduces capsaicin. Paprika peppers are primarily grown in Hungary, Spain, South America, the Mediterranean, India, and California.
In the USA this is a spice often just used for a splash of color on deviled eggs or an omelette. But around the world, this spice is used for its color yes, but also its taste, and is often part of a spice blend, marinade, or rub. The reason is that in other countries, the spice has more flavor and nuances from smokey to plain, from sweet to hot, and so on. In Hungary, for instance, they have 8 different types of paprika, while here in the USA there is mainly only one generic one, but often we do have the choice between smoked or sweet.
But use it carefully, as it has a high sugar content and VitC, so do not bloom this spice.
- McCormick Ingredients: Paprika and Silicon Dioxide (to Make Free Flowing).
You can make paprika too, the key is having access (or make your own) dried paprika peppers.
- Paprika Powder
- Dried peppers should be destemed, deseeded, cut into smaller segments
- Put in blender and grind to a fine powder
- Place into a glass container with a tight fitting lid
Thai Chilis
The little red Thai Chilis are known globally for their contribution to Southeast Asian cuisine, Thai chiles, aka prik kee noo in Thai, are small sized, thin-skinned, have pointed bottoms, and are hot. That translates to “mouse dropping chile,” a nod to the chile’s tiny size.
I do use these in some Thai dishes, but remove the membrane and seeds, and limit the number as these can be a bit much in terms of heat. When I see
Well, let me take a break here, with more in another post. Hopefully this is a good start to us understanding chilies and using them.
—Patty
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