Chile Pepper Glossary

By Maricel E. Presilla

Earbob
This earring-shaped South American pepper has an intense heat more widely associated with some cultivars of the C. chinense species. Crush a couple of pods lightly with some salt and add them to chicken soup for a dose of fruity heat. (C. baccatum.)

Ecuadoran Ají
On an Ecuadoran table there's almost always a tangy fresh condiment made with red onions and this pungent red pepper. Maturing to a length of four inches or so, the Ecuadoran ají ripens from a deep green to an arresting bright red. (C. baccatum.)

Grenada Seasoning
This medium-size pepper from the island of Grenada, in the Lesser Antilles, has an intense tropical-fruit aroma but is milder than many other Caribbean peppers; it is similar in flavor to the ají dulce. It is an excellent choice for cooked sauces and bean dishes. (C. chinense.)

Inca Red Drop
I grew a bumper crop of these gorgeous, medium-hot, fleshy peppers in my New Jersey backyard. Shaped like a water droplet when fully ripe, this Peruvian chile is deliciously fruity, as are most C. baccatum peppers, and tastes terrific raw in salads, ceviches, and fresh salsas. (C. baccatum.)

Jalapeño
Mexicans love the fleshy jalapeño as a vegetable. They marinate it in vinegary escabeches (pickling sauces) or cut it into strips (rajas) to give moderate heat to a variety of foods, including the filling for tamales. When the jalapeño is dried and smoked it becomes the complexly flavored chipotle. (C. annuum.)

Lantern
Shaped like a child's toy top, this pretty Peruvian pepper ripens from green to bright orange. The plant is a prolific bearer, and the peppers, which are very hot and have an herbal aroma and bright tropical-fruit flavors, are delicious in fresh salsas and sweet chutneys. (C. chinense.)

Malagueta
You'll find mountains of inch-long malaguetas at all stages of ripeness in Brazilian markets. Cooks in Brazil, where this very hot pepper is called pimenta malagueta, crush them by the dozen and add them to their molhos (table sauces); they also pickle them in vinegar and use them as a condiment. (C. frutescens.)

Maraba
Probably named after a municipality in Brazil's Amazon region, this small, hot pepper is easily distinguished by its blunt tip and the attractive purple shading on its golden surface. I use it raw whenever I want to add a combination of exciting color, potent heat, and deep herbal aromas to my food. (C. chinense.)

Mirasol (Purple Variety)
Not to be confused with the Andean ají mirasol, the Mexican mirasol is a moderately hot, three-inch-long chile that normally ripens to a bright red; a purple cultivar is shown here. Better known dried, in which case it is called guajillo, it adds sharpness and a bright color to cooked sauces. (C. annuum.)

NuMex Big Jim
This stunning, foot-long pepper is one of many descendants of the New Mexico pod-type cultivars developed by the horticulturist Fabián García in the early 20th century. Easy to peel and mildly hot, it is ideal for stuffing or fire-roasting; it's also delicious roasted, cut into strips, and sprinkled with olive oil. (C. annuum.)

NuMex Sandía
Crossbred from a Californian anaheim chile and a New Mexican pod-type pepper called the NuMex 9, the sandía is easier to peel than the anaheim and much hotter than either of its parents. But, as with many New Mexican varieties, its heat does not linger and is balanced by a fine, apple-peel flavor. (C. annuum.)

Pasilla/Chilaca
The six- to 12-inch pasilla, which ripens from a deep olive green to a dark, purple-tinged mahogany, is known as chilaca when fresh (pictured). Pasilla ("little raisin") is the name it acquires when dried. Roasted chilaca can be crushed with garlic, oregano, and salt for a table salsa. (C. annuum.)

Peruvian Habanero
This strikingly beautiful, squash-shaped pepper ripens to a bright yellow-orange color. Like most habaneros, it balances an intense and bracing heat with a surprisingly delicate floral aroma. The Peruvian habanero goes well in fresh salsas, onion relishes, and citrus-spiked ceviches. (C. chinense.)

Peruvian Pointer
This comely, diminutive, medium-hot Peruvian pepper has smooth skin and thick flesh and grows to a length of about one and a half inches. It is an ornamental, but, as I've discovered with other showy varieties, it's a fine cooking pepper. I use it in northern Peruvian–style ceviches instead of the more customary ají limo. (C. baccatum.)

Pimenta-de-Cheiro
The name pimenta-de-cheiro ("fragrant pepper") describes a number of lantern-shaped and very aromatic Brazilian chinense peppers that are usually pickled in vinegar and added to table sauces. I grew the tiny, roundish cultivar pictured above; it ripened to orangey red. (C. chinense.)

Pimiento de Padrón
Though these tiny, thin-skinned peppers hail from Spain, they were likely developed from Mexican seeds. Very tasty when fried in olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt (see the recipe for Padrón Peppers with Serrano Ham), these peppers are generally mild, but it is not uncommon to find a few in a bunch that are hot enough to make you gasp. (C. annuum.)

Poblano
In Mexico, the large, moderately hot poblano is the quintessential pepper for stuffing. Some cultivars mature from a deep green to mahogany; others ripen to a chocolate brown. When dried, the greener peppers become wrinkled and dark brown ancho chiles, which are essential to cooked sauces and moles. (C. annuum.)