Fresh Chile Peppers Category

These large, mild chiles are perfect for chiles rellenos. Mexican cooks also like to dice or purée them, and then add them to sauces, soups, and casseroles. They have a tough skin, but it peels off easily if you first char the chiles over a flame and then steam them in a paper bag for several minutes. Anaheims are available year-round, but they're best in the summer. You can occasionally find red Anaheims, which are riper and slightly hotter. When dried, this pepper is called a chile Colorado.

These are often used in Cajun recipes. Green cayennes appear in the summer, while hotter red cayennes come out in the fall. They are very hot.

Along with pepperoncini, this is a good pickling pepper. They are moderately hot, and range in color from orange to bright red.

When dried, a chilaca pepper is called a pasilla chile. They are mild.

They are moderately hot.

These are similar to jalapeno peppers, but with thinner walls. They're great in salsas. Green Fresnos are available in the summer. the hotter red ones come out in the fall.

Ghost peppers are a very hot (over 1,000,000 scovilles) hybrid between Capsicum chinese and Capsicum frutescens. It is grown and used in northern India.

These are moderately hot.

These extremely hot orange chiles have a fruity flavor. They're best in the summertime.

These are hot.

These popular chilis have a good amount of heat and rich flavor. Green jalapenos are best in the late summer, while red jalapenos appear in the fall. Canned jalapenos aren't as fiery as fresh. When dried and smoked, this pepper is called a chipotle.

This habanero relative is often used in salsas. It has black seeds. These are hot.

Mirasol peppers have a distinctive fruity flavor. These are moderately hot. When dried, these are called Guajillo chiles.

These large chilies are similar in size to Anaheims, but they're hotter. New Mexico green chilies peak in the late summer, while the hotter New Mexico red chilies appear in the fall. These are moderately hot.

These mild, heart-shaped peppers are large and have very thick walls, which make them great for stuffing. They're best in the summer. When dried, this pepper is called an Ancho chili.

This is a small, sweet, mild pepper that looks like someone stepped on it. It's fruity-tasting like a habanero, only not nearly as hot.

These very hot chiles look like tiny bell peppers and have black seeds. They have an interesting fruity flavor.

This extremely hot pepper is almost indistinguishable from the habanero, except that it's a bit smaller and has a fruitier flavor. It's popular in the Caribbean.

These have thin walls, so they don't need to be charred, steamed, and peeled before using. They are moderately hot. When dried, this is called a chile seco.

This Japanese chile is very sweet and mild with a grassy flavor. It's about two inches long.

These are extremely hot.

These are long, green, and hot chili peppers. Turks like to grill them and serve them with meat. Don't confuse this fresh pepper with the spice called Turkish pepper.

These fresh yellow peppers are long, curved, and very hot.

These are easily confused with milder banana peppers. Sample before using. They are moderately hot.