Are Dried Red Chiles Spicy

The short answer is yes, they can be. The hottest dried chiles in the world – Carolina Reaper chiles, Scorpion chiles, Naga Viper chiles, and Ghost chiles – are in fact all red in color. But the real answer is a bit more complex as the mildest dried chiles – Aji Paprika chiles, Choricero chiles, Nora chiles, Anaheim chiles, and Aji Panca chiles – are also red.

Dried chiles generally come in four varying colors – red, orange, brown and black. Red chile peppers are the most common ones selected for drying, as they are left on the plant to reach full maturation and at that stage provide the most flavor and nuance to a recipe. Some peppers, such as Aji Amarillo and Habanero, are more reddish-orange or orange at peak ripeness; lighter colored peppers do not mean they’re not as ripe, nor does it mean they’re not as spicy. Depending on the maturation stage of a pepper at harvest time or the processes used during drying, some chiles, like Chipotle Meco, can look dusty and brown or, as is the case with Ancho chiles, almost purple-black. These differences in color are all cultivar characteristics of unique flavor complexities and heat levels of that pepper.

 

 

The spiciness of a chile has more to do with the size of the chile pepper than it does the color, and that is related to the biology of the chile. The heat of a chile pepper is most concentrated in the placenta or pith with some heat also residing in capsaicin glands, also called the pith or ribs of the fruit. The placenta is the part of the fruit where most of the capsaicin compound resides; it contains 89% of the alkaloid capsaicin. The heat does not reside in the pericarp, or walls, of the chile pepper. Smaller peppers do not have as much wall as do larger chiles, so the heat is more present, particularly if that is a characteristic that they have been bred for. Smaller peppers tend to be hotter than larger ones, but just because a pepper is small doesn’t mean it’s going to be hot. The cute, round little Nora chile measures just an inch all the way around, but delivers a sweet, mild 500-1,000 SHU. The best way to ensure the heat in a chile pepper is simply by getting them from a reliable supplier who can furnish you with the correct information.

 

What Is a Red Chile

Red Chile is a general term for a ripe chile pepper. They are typically small. Red chile peppers are all members of the Capsicum family, a genus of tropical pepper plants that has thousands of varieties of red peppers found around the world. Capsicums can be found in varying shapes, sizes, flavors, and heat levels. Red peppers may have sweet, fruity, or earthy flavors and the heat levels can vary from mild and gentle to sharp and hot.

The real question you have to ask when searching for red chiles is: What are you using them for? Mostly likely you have a recipe that calls for a generic red chile pepper and does not point to a specific cultivar. It’s easy to get stuck and probably a bit overwhelmed when there are thousands of varieties of chile pepper available. Understanding how hot chile peppers are and the flavor profile a recipe needs is critical to the successful creation of a dish.

 

How Do You Use Red Chile Peppers

Red chile peppers are commonly used in Asian curries, noodle dishes, and stir-fries. These types of dishes usually call for a bit of sharp, clean heat without much chile pepper flavor, so chiles don’t dominate the other ingredients. The best red chile for these types of recipes are Thai chiles (70,000-130,000 SHU).

Red chiles are found everywhere in Mexican cuisine, from bean dishes, enchiladas, and moles to slow-roasted meat dishes and a dizzying array of sauces. The red chiles most commonly used in Mexican cooking are the milder Guajillo (2,500-5,000 SHU), Cascabels (1,000-2,500 SHU), and Costeno Rojo (5,000 – 15,000 SHU) to hotter chiles such as Habanero (150,000-325,000 SHU), Chiltepin (100,000-250,000 SHU), and Pequin (30,000-60,000 SHU).

Mediterranean dishes tend to use milder chiles that are richly flavored. The most common mild red chiles used in these recipes are Paprika or Smoked Paprika (120-140 SHU), Nora (500-1,000 SHU), and Choricero (175-300 SHU).

If you’re not sure of your heat tolerance there are ways to make dried chiles less spicy.

 

What Is the Mildest Red Chile

The mildest dried red chiles are Aji Paprika Chiles followed closely by Choricero Chiles, Nora Chiles, and Anaheim Chiles (500-1,000 SHU).