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How to Handle Hot Chilies |
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Hot peppers, or chilies, vary in piquancy-sometimes even on a single
plant. The fresh red and green chilies used in recipes in All Easy Recipes are generally
hot. (Fresh green chilies are underripe red chilies, and taste almost
the same.) Canned green chilies are mildly piquant; canned jalapeno chilies
are fiery. Though most dried chilies are hot, the ancho variety is almost
sweet and is used primarily to give sauces a maroon color.
The volatile oils in any of these chilies may burn your skin and make
your eyes smart. Wear rubber gloves if you can, and be careful not to
touch your face while working with chilies. After handling the hot peppers,
wash your hands (and the gloves) thoroughly with soap and water.
Before chopping chilies, rinse them clean and pull out the stems under
cold running water. Break or cut the pods in half and brush out the
seeds. The chilies may be used at once or soaked in cold salted water for
an hour or so to make them less hot.
Small dried chilies should be stemmed, broken open and seeded before
they are used. Dried ancho chilies should be plumped as well. Place the
seeded ancho chilies in a bowl, pour in enough boiling water to cover
them completely, and let them soak for at least 30 minutes. If you wish to
remove the skins, slip them off with your fingers or a small knife, or put
the chilies through the finest blade of a food mill.
Canned chilies should always be rinsed in cold water (to remove the
brine in which they were preserved) before they are cut and seeded.
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ANCHO:
A deep-mahogany, heartshaped chili, about 3 inches long by 2½ inches wide at its widest
point. The ancho (meaning "broad" in Spanish) is a member of the Cayenne group. Fullflavored
and mild.
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CHIPOTLE:
A dark brick-red chili about 2 inches long, plump, tapered and twisted. Very hot,
with a pungent, distinct flavor.
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GDERO (also known as California green pepper):
A pale plump yellowish-green mild chili, 3 to 4 inches long and about 2½ inches
in diameter. Slightly curved and tapered. Widely available in the fall in vegetable and supermarkets.
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HONTAKA:
A red, thin, somewhat wrinkled chili 1 to 2 inches long. Very pungent. Largely grown in
Japan. Sold dried in jars and cellophane packets.
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JALAPENO:
A grass-green, smooth-skinned chili, about 2 inches long. Hot and juicy, rather stringy. The
jalapeno is widely available canned.
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MALAGUETA PEPPER:
A small green or red chili resembling the slender tapering tabasco pepper.
Very hot. Used in Bahian cooking.
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MULATO:
A darker, larger and more pungent chili than the ancho, with which it is often combined in
cooking. Sold dried.
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PASILLA:
A thin, mahogany chili, about 7 inches long. The flavor is not so marked as the ancho's but
it is more pungent. Available dried.
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PEPPERS, GREEN OR RED, MILD (also known as bell peppers, sweet peppers or, in the Midwest, mango peppers):
Although slightly pungent peppers do exist within this variety, only a fresh, mild
form is usually found in markets. The kinds most commonly sold are plump and block-shaped, 4 to
5 inches long, tapering slightly toward the bottom. Dark green when immature, they will ripen
to a brilliant red. Available fresh.
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PEPPERS, GREEN OR RED, PIQUANT (usually Cayenne):
Peppers ripen from green through orangey-yellow to red, and continue to ripen after they are
picked. Color should not affect pungency, but flavor is sometimes more pronounced in the fully
ripened ones. Some are tapered, twisted and wrinkled, some are smooth and shiny. Within the
same strain some may be mild, others hot to very hot. Sizes vary anywhere from 3 to 8 inches.
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PEPPERS, YELLOW, PIQUANT:
Smooth and waxy, bright yellow, maturing to orange-red, about 5 inches long by ¾ inches. These
peppers are often found under the name "Hungarian yellow wax" and vary from mildly piquant to
very pungent. Available fresh, usually in the fall.
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PEQUIN (also known as tepin):
Tiny bright-red oval chilies about ½ inch long. Very hot. Available bottled or dried.
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POBLANO:
A dark-green chili, about the size of a bell pepper though more tapered and with a
richer flavor. Usually mild, but occasionally slightly hot. Available fresh and canned.
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SERRANO:
A tapered bright-green smooth pepper, 1 to 2 inches long. Mildly hot and very savory.
Available in cans.
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TABASCO:
Bright red, smoothskinned and tapered, about 1½ inches long. Hot. It is sold bottled
whole, and is not to be confused with Tabasco sauce.
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