How to Identify Hot Pepper Varieties
Hot peppers come in a multitude of varieties, each with their own flavor and amount of heat. You'll need to know one from another to care for peppers in a garden and to know which ones to use in certain dishes. The easiest way to tell peppers apart is by color or shape. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Look at the color of the pepper. If the pepper is orange, it is most likely a habanero pepper. If the pepper is red, it could be a cayenne, fresno, mirasol or rocotillo pepper. If it's green, it can be narrowed to an Anaheim, jalapeno, pasilla, poblano, serrano and Thai chili.
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Note the texture of the pepper. Pepper skin is often either smooth or wrinkled. For example, scotch bonnet peppers have wrinkled skin, whereas Anaheim chilies have smooth skin.
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Look at the shape of the chili pepper. Cherry pepper and rocotillo chilies are short and stubby. Serrano peppers and Thai chilies, on the other hand, are the exact opposite.
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Measure the length of the pepper. Some peppers, such as the portachuela and the chiltepin varieties, are rather small --less than 1 inch in height. Other varieties, including kovinchu and poblano are longer. In fact, the poblano pepper is usually about 4 inches long.
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Taste the peppers. If you come across a short, orange pepper and it is extremely hot, it is likely a habanero pepper. If you bite into a long, yellow-green pepper in the shape of a banana and don't detect much heat at all, you likely have a banana pepper.
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Tips & Warnings
For extra help, you could consult a book or website about peppers. If all else fails take a picture of the pepper or the actual pepper with you to a farm or farmer's market for assistance.
Although tasting the pepper can be beneficial, it can also be dangerous if you are sensitive to heat.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
