Chile Pepper Glossary
Ají Amarillo
Believed to have originated in Peru, this intensely fruity, moderately hot, and complexly flavored pepper is about six inches long when mature. The ají amarillo is a favorite in Peru and Bolivia and a great all-purpose cooking pepper (see the recipe for Peruvian Chicken Stew). (C. baccatum.)
Ají Caballero
This inch-long Caribbean pepper is often sold commercially in the United States under the name Puerto Rican jelly bean, and it packs a mighty heat. Puerto Ricans pickle it in vinegar, garlic, and other ingredients to make a hot sauce called pique, which, like Tabasco, is often brought to the table to garnish foods. (C. annuum.)
Ají Cristal
The four-inch "crystal pepper" is named for the translucent luster of the unripe fruit's skin. In Chilean cooking, it plays a role similar to that of the jalapeńo and the serrano, serving as an ingredient in table salsas like chancho en piedra, a mix of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and peppers crushed in a stone mortar. (C. baccatum.)
Ají Dulce
Deeply herbal, fruity, and musky, this tiny, lantern-shaped sweet pepper exemplifies the extraordinary range of heat exhibited by the C. chinense species. It is a cornerstone of the cuisines of the Hispanic Caribbean countries (see the recipe for Shrimp Ceviche). (C. chinense.)
Ají Limon
This elegantly contoured Andean cultivar reaches a length of about two and a half inches and has a charming, citrusy flavor and a pleasant yet potent heat comparable to that of the northern Peruvian ají limo. Sometimes called the Peruvian yellow pepper, it ripens from green to a lustrous lemon yellow. (C. baccatum.)
Ají Santa Cruz
The bright color and pungent fruitiness of this three-inch-long Bolivian pepper make it an ideal replacement for the orange-hued (and sometimes harder to find) ají escabeche, typically used in northern Peruvian cooking. It grows on a tall plant that needs plenty of space and sunlight. (C. baccatum.)
Aribibi Gusano
To me, this fascinating Bolivian pepper resembles a caterpillar. The roughly one-and-a-half-inch-long pod is deeply aromatic and, like many members of the C. chinense species, deliciously hot. The aribibi gusano gives an intense aroma to fresh salsas, making for an unusual garnish. (C. chinense.)
Belize Sweet Habanero
Seeds from this small, winsome red pepper came from the town of Punta Gorda in Belize. It resembles the much hotter scotch bonnet pepper more closely than the smoother-skinned habaneros of the neighboring Yucatán. Like the ají dulce, its chinense cousin, it is very aromatic and only moderately hot. (C. chinense.)
Bolivian Habanero
This plum-size, very hot Bolivian pepper can be used to make a delicious red onion relish flavored with bitter oranges. The combination creates a tongue-tickling acidity that's a perfect accompaniment to crisp-skinned Bolivian-style pork with roasted potatoes and sweet, Andean yam–like tubers such as oca. (C. chinense.)
Bolivian Rainbow
This multicolor Bolivian pepper, which is usually about half an inch long when harvested, is typically sold as an ornamental, but when added raw to salsas or as a finishing touch to a cooked dish, it lends lively color and a strong jolt of clean heat, if not a particularly complex flavor. (C. frutescens.)
Caribbean Red
Ripening to a rich, orangey red, this one-and-a-half-inch-long, scorchingly hot peppers—it's twice as hot as many of its notoriously pungent C. chinense cousins—can be identified by its distinctive, pointy tip. Used sparingly, it gives a pronounced aromatic dimension and bracing heat to fresh salsas. (C. chinense.)
Cascabel
This pretty, plum-size Mexican chile is moderately hot. When mature, it is a burgundy red and, when dried, becomes a very dark reddish brown and rattles if shaken—which accounts for its name, which means jingle bell in Spanish. Fresh cascabels lend strong tannic notes to table salsas and cooked sauces. (C. annuum.)
Cayenne
From its South American home, the bitingly hot cayenne traveled across the world with Portuguese explorers. It is now widely cultivated in North America. The seasoning powder sold commercially as cayenne pepper is no longer made exclusively with cayennes but, usually, with a blend of other hot cultivars. (C. annuum.)
Cayenne (Gold)
This five-inch-long, smooth-skinned, yellow cayenne was developed in the U.S. It is a cousin of the more widely known, red-colored long cayenne and, with its clean, direct piquancy, works well in Peruvian ceviches (raw fish dishes) when you can't find the more traditional ají limo or ají amarillo. (C. annuum.)
Chapeau de Frade
Shaped like a bishop's crown, with a pronounced lobed and concave tip, this very hot pepper is called pimenta cambuci in its native Brazil. It is almost too beautiful to eat, but its fruity flavor is as alluring as it curious silhouette. I like to use it raw in seafood cocktails and savory fruit salsas. (C. baccatum.)
Chile de Agua
This six-inch-long Mexican pepper has a shape reminiscent of the much milder poblano's. Oaxacan cooks often stuff it with a savory pork hash. They also cut it into strips, sauté it with onions and epazote, finish the mixture with milk and fresh cheese, and serve it with warm tortillas. (C. annuum.)
Chile de Árbol
With its elegant curve and pointy tip, this two-and-a-half-inch-long, very hot Mexican chile has a smooth, brittle skin and clean taste. It is a favorite in table sauces made with tomatoes and tomatillos. I love the bold heat of dried chiles de árbol in hot chocolate. (C. annuum.)
Chiltepín
In the arid Mexican state of Sonora, cooks gather tiny, wild-growing chiltepín peppers between the months of September and January and add the coffee bean–size chiles to both cooked dishes and tableside condiments. Often sun-dried, the chiltepín delivers a megaton of heat. (C. annuum.)
Chocolate Habanero
The name of this chubby, two-inch-wide Caribbean habanero refers to the rich, dark hue of its skin and not to its taste, which is all about heat, not sweetness. I prefer to use chocolate habaneros in uncooked dishes, to show off the peppers' handsome color. (C. chinense.)
Cobán
As small as a chiltepín, this hot Guatemalan pepper is often called chile cobanero and is used both fresh and smoke-dried. The cobán takes its name from a town in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz region, where it flavors a beloved turkey stew called kak'ik. (C. annuum.)
Cubanelle
This is the fresh sweet pepper of choice in Hispanic Caribbean cooking. Cubanelles take on a red color when fully mature but are normally sold when they are pale green. This five-inch-long pepper is ideal for frying; that explains why it's sometimes called Italian frying pepper. (C. annuum.)
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