Types of Chili

A red bell pepper is a common mild chili.

Chili peppers are used all over the world as a foundation in the flavoring and seasoning of dishes. Naturally grown as the fruit of plants, chili peppers are distinctive for their spicy and sometimes hot taste. Chili peppers can be categorized according to their hotness by using the Scoville Heat scale.

Sweet Peppers

Sweet peppers are several types of chili that have a mild taste or flavor. These chili peppers have a zero-to-low rating on the Scoville Heat Index, which rates chili peppers from the mildest to the hottest. Bell peppers are a common sweet chili pepper that are around the sized of a baseball. The pepper is frequently frequently found in yellow, green, red or orange. A pimento pepper is a mild chili pepper that resembles a cherry, and averages around 500 on the Scoville Heat Index. The flesh of the pimento pepper is often used as a filling in olives.

Mild Chili Peppers

Mild chili peppers are hotter than sweet peppers, but are still manageable to eat in a variety of dishes. They range between 1,000 and 10,000 Scoville units. The jalapeno pepper is common mild chili in the United States. Usually green or red in color, a jalapeno is common in appetizers and dishes such as nachos and Mexican salsa. The poblano pepper is a larger mild chili about the size and shape of a heart. The pepper is often fried, stuffed, used in mole sauces or dried as a seasoning.

Hot Peppers

Hot chili peppers are rated at 10,000 and higher on the Scoville Heat Index. The are used to provide spice and flavor to food, and are often to hot to ingest directly. A serrano pepper is similar in look to the jalapeno pepper but is much hotter, around 10,000 to 25,000 Scoville units. The cayenne pepper is a red chili commonly dried and used as a powder or in flakes. Typically between 25,000 and 50,000 on the Scoville Heat Index, the cayenne pepper can be used as a seasoning. Tabasco pepper is a hot chili that rates anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 on the index. The chili is usually the main ingredient in Tabasco sauce, a popular sauce used as a condiment.

Hottest Peppers

The hottest chili peppers in the world rate around 150,000 units and higher. They have limited use in cooking, as the chili is extremely hot. The Bhut Jolokia is recognized as one of the hottest peppers in the world, and is applied in very few dishes as a seasoning. The habanero is another intensely spice pepper used as a main ingredient in many hot sauces and spicy foods.

References

• Famous Chili Recipes: Types of Chili Peppers
• Chili Salsa: Chili Types