What types of chili pepper can be found in aspara chili mix?

What types of chili pepper can be found in aspara chili mix?

Habanero

The habanero pepper is a hot chili pepper named after the Cuban city of La Habana (Havana). It is well known for its intense heat, as well as its distinct fruitiness. The habanero is used in salsas, hot sauces and other spicy foods, and will turn a bland barbeque into a fiery feast!

With 100,000-350,000 Scoville heat units (SHU, Scoville heat unit is measurement of the chili pepper spiciness or “heat”, over 100,000 SHU means extremely hot), habaneros are said to be 100 times hotter than jalapeños. In Mexico, habanero chilis are sometimes soaked in tequila or mezcal bottles s in order to make drinks even more fiery. It can be added to lemonades and cookies to add extra spiciness to the taste.

Notes:

Capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot is an oil which can stick to your skin while handling peppers. It is therefore advised to wear gloves when handling hot peppers like habaneros. Avoid rubbing eyes or other sensitive body areas. Removing the inner white placental tissue will help in decreasing the heat before adding it to your dishes.

Bhut Jolokia Fiery Furnace

Bhut Jolokia is originates from north eastern India and Bangladesh, but it is often found in Sri Lanka too. In the Assam language it is called “bhut” which means “ghost”, hence it is also known as Ghost pepper. With its 800,000 or more SHU, the Ghost pepper is estimated to be 416 times hotter than the mildest jalapeno pepper, which averages about 5,000 SHU.

These peppers have an intense fruity, sweet chili flavour followed by a strong heat kick after 30 – 45 seconds.

The combination of intense heat and fruity flavour makes ghost peppers great for making hot sauces, powders or chili flakes, or for chopping and cooking into larger meals. In a large pot, the heat will develop intensely. A little goes a long way.

Notes:

The burning generally intensifies over the first 10 – 15 minutes and subsides after about 30 – 40 minutes. It is not uncommon to experience sweating, watery eyes, hiccups and shortness of breath.

Santaka

The Santaka, also known as Chile Japones, Hontaka, Oriental style chili peppers or ‘Asian Hot’, is a hot chili pepper that originates from Japan. Santaka is a teardrop shaped pepper with a great red color with 50,000 – 80,000 SHU. With flavour that is less complex than in some chili peppers, santaka is easy to balance with other flavors. As a result, their pure simple heat is more direct.

Santaka is popular in Asian cuisine and is typically found in many Chinese (especially Hunan and Sichuan), Japanese, and southeast Asian dishes. The dried Santaka pepper is a common ingredient in stir-fries, sauces, chutneys, salsas, and sautéed eggplants. Grind dried Santaka can be used for dry rubs and roasting purposes. It is recommended to store powder in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Hot Thai

Thai chili refers to a single type of pepper from Thailand but it also includes a whole set which is generally small and carries a lot of heat. Unlike most of the chili peppers that are harvested green, Thai peppers are usually left on the plants to fully develop before harvesting. These chilis are well known to have a moderate to hot level of spice, ranging 50,000-100,000 SHU. Red Thai chili peppers are often used as a garnish and are used whole or minced to flavor sauces, oils, and pastes.

Serrano

The serrano chili pepper resembles the well-known jalapeño pepper, but is smaller, and hotter, with Scoville rating ranging from 10,000 to 23,000 SHU. The name of the pepper, serrano, actually is a reference to the mountains (sierras) of those areas of Puebla and Hidalgo in Mexico. These peppers are high in antioxidant properties and contain plenty of vitamins A and C.

Serrano peppers are meaty thus not the best choice for drying. However, these tasty peppers are great for variety of dishes and hot sauces. They are usually harvested while still green. Full ripe red pepper will have an increased heatness.

Hot Rod
Hot rod is a type of serrano pepper estimated to be 12,000 – 20,000 SHU. It differs from its close cousin serrano by its characteristic stripes on fruit. The stripes will change colour as the fruit ripens, from green and white, to orange and brown, and finally hot rod red! This chilli pepper has a delicious fruity flavour that gets hotter as the chilli reddens, so you can choose to harvest your fruit according to your taste.

Jalapenos

Named after Jalapa, the city in Mexico where they were originally grown, the medium-sized, moderately spicy Jalapeno chili peppers are world-wide popular. In comparison to bell peppers which are not spicy with zero SHU, jalapenos are a bit hot with Scoville scale between 2,500 and 8,000 SHU. While jalapenos may sound very spicy, keep in mind that the spiciest peppers in the world are over 2 million SHU! The variation in SHU resulting in change in the heat of the pepper, can happen due to the climate, soil and amount of rainfall.

Jalapeños are usually picked (and eaten) while they are still green in color and not totally ripe. Still green, jalapeños tend to have a bright, grassy flavor. They can be even slightly bitter.

Ancho/Poblano

The ancho chili pepper originates from Puebla, Mexico. It is in fact the dried version of the poblano pepper. Poblanos have a milder flavour with with Scoville scale between 1,000 and 1,500 SHU. A Poblano pepper, is green when it is just a fresh chili and can be harvested before ripening. However, when allowed to fully ripen, a poblano turns red and develops additional sweetness and hotness, that will balance its mild hit and enrich any meal.