| Bell peppers | Probably the most familiar pepper in the United States, the green and red bell peppers are squarish and fist-size. Green peppers turn red in the fall, becoming sweeter and milder, yet retaining their crisp, firm texture. |
| Ancho peppers | This chili looks and tastes very much like ordinary bell pepper but can be considerably more peppery at times. Tapered rather than square, it is firmer, less crisp, more waxy-looking. It turns a bright red and sweetens up in the fall. When dry, it assumes a flat, round shape and wrinkles up like a prune. |
| California green chilies (Anaheim) | Fresh, these peppers are 5 to 8 inches long, 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide, tapering to a point, usually a bright, shiny green. The flavor ranges from mild and sweet to moderate hot. To use fresh peppers, peel the skin from the chilies. When using fresh or canned, taste for hotness – they can vary greatly from pepper to pepper. |
| Chilaca Chiles | Look and taste much like the guajillo and guayon chiles. |
| Chile de Arbol | Also known as the “Cola de Rata”. Often dried, toasted, used to decorate Mexican dishes. |
| Chipotle Chiles | Made from jalapenos that have been dried and smoked. Sold both dried and canned in adobo, or a rich smoky dark reddids-brown sauce. |
| Fresno chili peppers | Bright green, changing to orange and red when fully matured. Fresno chilies have a conical shape – about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter at the stem end. They are often just labeled “hot chili peppers” when canned or bottled. |
| Guajillo Chiles | Smooth-skinne, brick or cranberry red chiles, a bit spicier than anchos and not as sweet. Because of their tangy brightness, they are often powdered over fruit or vegetables or added to stews and soups. |
| Jalapeno chili peppers | These peppers have thicker flesh, darker green color, and more cylindrical shape than Fresno chilies; however, the heat level of the two varieties is about the same – HOT! Canned and bottled peppers are sometimes labeled “hot peppers” with jalapeno as a subtitle. They are always available in sauce form as salsa jalapena, and pickled. |
| Mulato Chiles | Deep brown, longer and more tapered than the ancho, more pungent also. Often replaces the ancho in recipes. |
| Pasilla peppers | The true pasilla pepper is a long, thin pepper 7 to 12 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Pasillas turn from dark green to dark brown as they mature. |
| Pequin Chiles | Tiny, dried red bullets of fiery heat, adding a unique flavor to many dishes. Crumble the dried pod and add. |
| Pimentos | These heart-shaped chilies are purchased canned in the United States. The flesh is softer and a little sweeter than the common red bell pepper. |
| Poblano Chiles | Dark green, about the size of a bell pepper but tapered at one end, can be mild or hot. Often used in “Chile Rellenos” |
| Serrano Chiles | A small 1 ½” fresh HOT pepper. The smaller they are, the more kick they have. Most often used in Pico de Gallo. Dynamite -hot is an understatement for these tiny 1-inch peppers. When new on the vine, they are rich, waxy green, changing to orange and red as they mature. They also sold canned, pickled, or packed in oil. A great source of vitamin C. |
| Small, whole, red dried hot chilie peppers. | Labeled this way on the supermarket spice shelves, many small, tapered chilies about 1 to 2 inches long are sold dried, but there is no one varietal name that applies to all of them. |
| Yellow Chile peppers. | Many short conical-shaped yellow peppers with a waxy sheen go by this name-Santa Fe grande, caribe, banana pepper, Hungarian, Armenian way, floral gem, and gold spike. Probably most familiar are the canned pickled wax peppers. Their flavor ranges from medium-hot to hot. |
| Habanero peppers | To date these are the Hottest chili peppers know to man, HOT – HOT – HOT. Use extreme caution when using. Marble-shaped chili peppers, ranges in color from unripe green to full ripe red. |