Red Hot Chili Peppers

For those who would like to add a little heat in their life, through food, here's a quick breakdown of those fantastically smokin' chiles used in Mexican cooking:

Fresh Chilis

Poblano - large, dark green, meaty chili that can be mild to hot.  Used commonly blistered and peeled, veins and seeds removed for Chili Relleno.  Also used cut into strips (rajas) for various purposes from tacos to quesadillas.  Anaheim Chiles can be used as a good substitution.

Jalapeno - Elongated, blunt, dark green chilis 2-3" long, ripened to a fiery red but with a good green vegetable flavour.  Hot to very hot!  Used in strips or whole, pickled, charred, as a condiment or fresh in sauces.

Serrano - Similar to Jalapeno but smaller in size.  The serrano is preferred for fresh or cooked salsas.

Habanero - Considered the hottest of Mexico's chiles, they are beautiful bright orange or yellow in colour and lantern shape with a distinctive perfumed flavour; used fresh or charred in salsas and Mexican condiments.

Dried Chilis

Ancho - This is the dried version of Poblano chiles.  Heart shaped, small to large in size.  Mild, fruity flavour widely used in sauces, also stuffed for Chiles Rellenos.  Choose dried chiles that are still flexible, with a skin that has a shine to it.  Generally prepared by soaked or toasted before stuffing or blending with ingredients for sauces.

Pasilla - Dried chilaca chili, rarely found fresh.  Long and narrow, with black wrinkled skin; used in sauces and moles.  Rich, sharp flavour also used to garnish soups; for rustic table sauces and other cooked sauces.

Guajillo - Deep red, mild with a slight citrus flavour.  Commonly used and popular in sauces; similar to California chiles in the US and used in enchilada sauces.

Chile de arbol - Very hot, small red chile used mostly for table sauces.

Chipotle - Jalapeno ripened to a fiery red, dried and smoked.  Hot to very hot with a good smoky flavour;  often canned in adobo sauce.  Used as a condiment or in dried form to flavour soups, pasta and meat dishes; stuffed and batter fried as Chili Relleno.

Information courtesy of Casa Coloures (Cooking School) in Cabo San Lucas.