LITTLE ROCK — SOME LIKE IT HOT
Chile: Anything consisting of the plants of the Capsicum genus or the fruit from the plants.
Scoville Scale: Measure of a chile’s heat devised by scientist Wilbur Scoville in 1912.
Capsaicin: The oil found in peppers that makes them so spicy. Most of the capsaicin is found in the membranes and seeds of the chile pepper.
Types of chiles:
Cayenne: A bright red, extremely hot, pungent chile that ranges from 2 to 5 inches long and about 1 /2 inch in diameter.
Chipotle: This hot chile is actually a dried, smoked jalapeno. It has a wrinkled, dark brown skin and a smoky, sweet, almost chocolaty flavor.
Fresno: Short and coneshaped, the Fresno is as hot as the more well-known jalapeno chile. It ranges in color from light green to bright red when fully mature.
Pasilla: The rich-flavored, medium-hot pasilla is a blackish-brown color. It’s generally 6 to 8 inches long and 1 to 1 1 /2 inches in diameter.
Pepperoncini: These thin, 2- to 3-inch-long chiles have wrinkled skin. They have a slightly sweet flavor that can range from medium to medium-hot.
Scotch bonnet: This small (1 to 1 1 /2 inches in diameter), irregularly shaped chile ranges in color from yellow and orange to red. The Scotch bonnet is one of the hottest peppers.
Tabasco: Originally a pepper variety found in Mexico, Tabasco peppers are now grown in Louisiana.
The McIlhenny family made Tabasco chiles famous in the 1880s as the main ingredient in the still-popular fiery condiment sauce.
Thai Chile: Only about 1 to 1 1 /2 inches long and 1 /4 inch in diameter, this diminutive chile packs a fiery punch that doesn’t dissipate with cooking.
Food, Pages 36 on 07/28/2010