ANCHO CHILES:
Ancho (literally “wide”) is the name for a dried poblano. The dried chile will be in the neighborhood of 3 _ to 4 inches long, with board shoulders (2 to 2 _ inches wide) that taper to a point; the skin will be quite wrinkled, and in the package the chiles will look almost black (though holding one up to the light will show it to be a very dark burgundy). An average ancho weighs 1/2 ounce. Always look for untorn, clean, soft, aromatic chiles (they’ll smell a little like prunes). A puree of soaked chile anchos will be brownish red with a mild, rich, almost sweet taste (it reminds me a little of milk chocolate) and a bit of residual bitterness. Per ounce, anchos give more pulp than most chiles.
Regional names include: chile pasilla (Michoacán and vicinity, plus California); the generally descriptive chile de guiisar or chile de color/Colorado (Mazatlán, Tampico, Querétaro, among the smattering); and in the northwest and northern West-Central areas there is a small ancho they call chino.
Uses: Used almost exclusively in cooked dishes (like mole), crumbled toasted bits are a common garnish on soup in Michoacan and whole ones are ocasionally stuffed.
CHIPOTLE CHILES:
Chipotle (from the Nahuatel for “smoked chile”) is the name of a smoke-dried jalapeño (the chile doesn’t air-dry well, so it must be force-dried, in this case with warm smoke). The dried chile is about 2 _ inches long and 1 inch wide; it smells smoky (you should be able to smell it through the package), is brittle, wrinkle-skinned, and is the only chile I know with a woody tan color. An average chipotle weighs slightly over 1/8 ounce. Look for chipotles that are firm and unbroken. A puree of soaked chile chipotles will be dark brown, with heat that comes on like a freight train and a flavor that is the essence of sweet smoke; it is not astringent, nor is the dried-chile flavor very pronounced.
Regional names: In Puebla and Veracruz, the name chipotle (Colorado) is used for a slightly smaller, dark burgundy, wrinkle-skinned, smoky-smelling chile; in those places, the chipotle described above are called chipotle mecos (the latter word meaning, literally and confusingly, “red with black stripes&148;). Those smaller, reddish chipotles (called moras in much of the rest of Mexico) aren’t as sweet or smoky-tasting as the chipotle meco, and they have a stronger dried-chile flavor; they’re at least as hot as the chipotles mecos and very astringent. These are sometimes canned under the name chipotles.
Uses: It seems we’ve all been captured by their smoky spell, you’ll enjoy chipotles in everything from salsas, to mole, soups, stews and sauces. Stuffed, battered and fried they are a chile-lover’s dream.
DE ÁRBOL CHILES:
When you can find chiles de árbol in a fresh state, they generally go by that same name. This vibrant, orange-red dried chile is usually slightly curved and measures in at about 3 inches long and _ inch wide, tapering to a sharp point; the skin is smooth, rather brittle and translucent. Forty-five mixed-sized chiles de árbol weigh 1 ounce. A puree of soaked chile de árbol will be a beautiful burnt orange with a very hot, sharp, straightforward dried-chile flavor.
Regional names include: parado and palillo (San Christóbal de las Casas, Chiapas), cambray (Monterey), and pico de pájaro (northern west coast).
Uses: In hot sauces, salsas, stews and crumbled as a garnish.
GUAJILLO CHILES:
On the rare occasion you find guajillos (literally &147;little gourd”) in a fresh state, they generally go by that same name. This burgundy-colored dried chile comes in a range of seizes (depending on the exact variety), but an average one is 4 _ inches, slowly tapering from a 2 inch width to a blunt point; the skin is smooth with some large wrinkles or folds, rather brittle and translucent. An average guajillo weighs about _ ounce. Always look for unbroken guajillos that are not too brittle and that don’t have any light colored patches (which indicate that moth larvae have eaten away the flesh). A puree of soaked chile guajillos will be an earthy, bright red with a medium-hot, nonsweet, strong, uncomplicated dried-chile flavor, a little tartness and just a hint of smokyness. Per ounce, guajillos gives much less pulp than anchos; their skin is very tough. This 4 _ inch, not-too-hot guajillo (in parts of West-Central Mexico, it is called mirasol) is the most common variety, there is frequently available a much hotter, thinner, slightly smaller, more pointed guajillo pulla (literally “taunting guajillo”). And in parts of West-Central and Northern Mexico, a chile is available that looks like (and is described by many market vendors as) a large, completely mild guajillo; it is very similar to the New-Mexico/California variety.
Regional names for the latter are listed under New Mexico/California Chile.
Uses: These are the workhous chiles with a lot of dazle. Along with anchos, they’re the most commonly used chiles in Mexico for many cooked dishes, salsas and sauces.
HABANERO CHILES:
The habanero’s reputation for heat has made it a favorite with many chile fans. We love it for its floral, fruity flavor as well. We use fresh habanero chiles in our cooking as they do in Mexico. Fresh are found all over the Yucatan in various stages of ripeness from green, to orange and red. Look for them in many large supermarket produce sections, some Latin markets and in many chile-lover’s gardens. Dried habanero chiles are not common in Mexico but we offer these for times when fresh are not available.
Uses: In place of the chipotle chile (use less they are substantially hotter).
NEW MEXICO CHILES:
In it’s fresh state, the chile is similar to or the same as what we call a long green chile in the United States (simply chile verde in Mexico). This burgundy-colored dried chile is usually 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, slowly tapering to a blunt end; the skin is smooth, has less wrinkles than a guajillo but otherwise resembles it. An average New Mexico/California chile weighs about 1/3 ounce. Choose them as you would guajillos. A puree of soaked New Mexico/California chiles will be an earthy, bright red with a rather bland, uncomplicated red-chile flavor and a little tartness; most of those sold in Mexico are completely mild, though in the United States you can get some that range to quite hot. Per ounce New Mexico/California chiles give much less pulp than anchos; their skin is very tough. Though some authorities say this chile is often labeled guajillo in the United States, I have not found it to be true.
Regional names: Some varieties of this chile is available through most of West-Central and Northern Mexico under various names: chilacate (Guadalajara), chilaca (Monterey), de la tierra or colorin (2 distinct varieties in Chihuahua), coloorado (Sonora), guajón (Zacatecas), and cascabel (northern West-Centraland Tampico¾not to be confused with the small, round cascabel, a word meaning, literally “jingle bells”).
Uses: Crushed for chile flakes, ground into powder, in cooked dishes, stews and salsas.
PASILLA CHILES:
Pasilla is the name for a dried chile chilaca. The long, evenly wide, blunt dried chile will range from 4 to 6 inches in length and 1 to 1 _ inches in with; the skin is wrinkled like that of an ancho, and the color (both in the package and held up to the light) will be more or less black. An average pasilla weighs 1/3 ounce. Choose them as you would anchos. A puree of soaked chiles pasillas will be brown-black with reddish overtones, and it will be medium-hot to hot and have great depth and complexity of flavor that goes on and on ¾ not at all sweet, and quite astringent. Pasillas will yield a fair amount of pulp per ounce.
Regional names include: chile Negro (Michoacán and vicinity, plus California) and, variously chile pasilla Negro or chile pasilla de México.
Uses: Pasilla is one of the most sophisticated chile flavors: pungent and tangy, deeply rich and woodsy. Used in moles, adobos and cooked dishes.
PEQUIN CHILES:
If you can get past the rather relentless, aggressive heat of this often wild-harvested ancestor of practically all Mexican chiles, there’s a richness and complexity there. A puree made from toasted, rehydrated pequin chiles is tangy, with a noticeable flavor of roasted peanuts and straw. The pequin puree is an earthy, rusty orange, similar to terracotta.
Dried pequins are generally an orangey red oval shape (no stem) about 1/2 inch long (they look like big kernels of puffed rice). Typically pequin chiles are associated with Northern Mexico (where you’ll also find its cousin, the round chile tepin).
Uses: To make hot sauce, or fried to use as a condiment for sprinkling over tacos and the like.
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