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Web Site Design by:
DENNIS HALL
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How
about a little "Pepper Talk"
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Chile
Facts
Some early Spanish priests, aware of
the passion the native people had for Chiles and unsure of the
Chile's powers, assumed they were aphrodisiacs and warned
against consumption which probably added to their popularity
among the adventurous newcomers.
Two of the founding fathers of our
country, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are both known
to have grown Chiles.
Eating chilies is addicting. When
capsaicin comes in contact with the nerves in your mouth, pain
signals are sent to the brain. Subsequently, the
brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers, that create a
feeling of well being. The more spicy food ingested the more
endorphins released. The effect is a pleasurable feeling
that true Chile heads crave.
A 1994 Red Savina Habanero from GNS
Spices has tested an astonishing 577,000 Scoville Units and is
believed to be the hottest pepper ever tested.
Indian tribes strung chilies together
and tied them to their canoes to ward off evils lurking in the
water.
The U.S. Territory of Guam is the
world's largest per capita consumer of Tabasco sauce, according
to the McIlhenny Company. Some people say that Guamanians
acquire a passion for hot sauce in the cradle, when mothers lace
their babies' bottles with Tabasco. True or not, that
story started because those Pacific islanders consume the
equivalent of almost two 2-ounce bottles of Tabasco sauce per
person each year, a feat unmatched in any other country on
Earth.
The scientific journal Toxicon reported
that drinking a quart and a half of Louisiana-style hot sauce
will cause death by respiratory failure if your body weight is
140 pounds or less...
The best relief for a burning mouth is
mild, yogurt or sour cream. These foods contain
casein, a protein that breaks down the bond that capsaicin forms
with the mouth's pain receptors...
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Descriptions
| Bell peppers |
Probably the most
familiar pepper in the United States, the green and red
bell peppers are square shaped and fist-size.
Green peppers turn red in the fall, becoming sweeter and
milder, yet retaining their crisp, firm texture. |
| Ancho peppers |
This chili looks and
tastes very much like ordinary bell pepper but can be
considerably more peppery at times. Tapered rather
than square, it is firmer, less crisp, more
waxy-looking. It turns a bright red and sweetens
up in the fall. When dry, it assumes a flat, round
shape and wrinkles up like a prune. |
| California
green chilies (Anaheim) |
Fresh, these peppers
are 5 to 8 inches long, 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide, tapering
to a point, usually a bright, shiny green. The
flavor ranges from mild and sweet to moderate hot.
To use fresh peppers, peel the skin from the chilies.
When using fresh or canned, taste for hotness - they can
vary greatly from pepper to pepper. |
| Fresno chili
peppers |
Bright green,
changing to orange and red when fully matured.
Fresno chilies have a conical shape - about 2 inches
long and 1 inch in diameter at the stem end. They
are often just labeled "hot chili peppers"
when canned or bottled. |
| Jalapeno
chili peppers |
These peppers have
thicker flesh, darker green color, and more cylindrical
shape than Fresno chilies; however, the heat level of
the two varieties is about the same - HOT!
Canned and bottled peppers are sometimes labeled
"hot peppers" with jalapeno as a subtitle.
They are always available in sauce form as salsa jalapeno,
and pickled. |
| Pasilla
peppers |
The true pasilla
pepper is a long, thin pepper 7 to 12 inches long by 1
inch in diameter. Pasillas turn from dark green to
dark brown as they mature. |
| Pimentos |
These heart-shaped
chilies are purchased canned in the United States.
The flesh is softer and a little sweeter than the common
red bell pepper. |
| Serrano
peppers |
A small 1 ½”
fresh HOT pepper. The smaller they are, the
more kick they have. Most often used in Pico de
Gallo. Dynamite -hot is an understatement
for these tiny 1-inch peppers. When new on the
vine, they are rich, waxy green, changing to orange and
red as they mature. They also sold canned,
pickled, or packed in oil. A great source of
vitamin C. |
| Small, whole,
red dried hot chilies peppers. |
Labeled this way on
the supermarket spice shelves, many small, tapered
chilies about 1 to 2 inches long are sold dried, but
there is no one varietal name that applies to all of
them. |
| Yellow Chile
peppers. |
Many short
conical-shaped yellow peppers with a waxy sheen go by
this name-Santa Fe Grande, caribe, banana pepper,
Hungarian, Armenian way, floral gem, and gold spike.
Probably most familiar are the canned pickled wax
peppers. Their flavor ranges from medium-hot to
hot. |
| Habanero
peppers |
To date these are
the Hottest chili peppers know to man, HOT - HOT
- HOT. Use extreme caution when
using. Marble-shaped chili peppers, ranges in
color from unripe green to full ripe red. |
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The Chile Heat Scale
Scoville Units
Chiles are rated by Scoville
Units, which is a measurement of capsaicin
levels (the oil that makes
Chiles hot). Although Chiles can vary from
pod to pod and plant to
plant, listed below is an approximate scale
for several variety of
Chiles:
Scoville Unit Heat Scale
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100,000 to 350,000
units
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Habanera, Scotch
Bonnet
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50,000 to 100,000
units
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Chiltepin, Thai
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30,000 to 50,000
units
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Piquin, Cayenne,
Tabasco
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15,000 to 30,000
units
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de Arbol
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5,000 to 15,000
units
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Serrano
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2,500 to 5,000
units
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Jalapeno, Mirasol,
Chipolte
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1,500 to 2,500
units
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Sandia, Cascabel
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1,000 to 1,500
units
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Ancho, Pasilla,
Espanola
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500 to 1,000 units
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New Mexican
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0 units
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Bell Peppers,
Pimento
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"Well just How
Hot Are They?"
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Fresh
Chile Peppers
The most popular Chile peppers
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Aji Chile
capsicum baccatum
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Anaheim Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Cherry Hot
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Finger Hot
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Habanero Chile
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Scotch Bonnet
capsicum chinense
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Hungarian Wax
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Jalapeno
capsicum annuum
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Large Cayenne
Chiles
(Long Hots)
capsicum annuum
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Passilla Chile
(chilaca)
capsicum annuum
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Poblano Chile
capsicum annuum
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Red Fresno
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Rocotillo
Chile
capsicum chinense
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Rocoto
Chile
(aka Manzano)
capsicum pubescens
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Serrano
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Thai
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Yellow Caribe
Chiles
capsicum annuum
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Dried Chile Peppers
Hot and Mild
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Cascabel Chile
capsicum annuum
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Chipotle Chile
capsicum annuum
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de Arbol Chile
capsicum annuum
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Guajillo Chile
capsicum annuum
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DID
YOU KNOW.....
Use
Caution In Handling And Storing Chile Peppers
When using fresh or
dried chili peppers, wear gloves to protect your hands
because the oils, capsaicin*, in the
peppers can cause severe burns. Don't touch your
face or eyes. If chilies do come in contact with
your bare hands, wash thoroughly with soapy water.
When grinding dried chilies, beware of the chili dust in
the air, which will irritate eyes and throats.
*Capsaicin is the heat factor in
chilies that is used medically to produce deep-heating
rubs for treating sports injuries and arthritic
therapies.
To
Dry Your Own Chile peppers
Tie the stems onto a
sturdy piece of twine, placing chilies close together
and making the strand as long as you wish. Hang in
dry area with the air circulating freely around the
strand. In several weeks, chilies lose their
brilliant hue, changing to a deep, glistening red; they
will feel smooth and dry.
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Contact Information:
Postal address:
Pepperland Farms
41177 N. Thibodaux Rd.
Ponchatoula, La 70454
Email
- Click here: Sales@PepperlandFarms.com
Customer Support by telephone:
Phone - 1-985-662-3834
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