Medium to Hot Chili Peppers
Want to kick it up a notch? If Medium peppers didn’t make your mouth burn, how about these? While still not off the charts, these peppers are not for those with sensitive taste buds.
Aji Amarillo Chili Pepper
Origin: Peru
Color: Yellow
Use: Condiment, ingredient in cooking.
Scoville: 30,00 – 50,000
Hot Fact: This “summer pepper” is used in Peruvian dishes such as “papa a la huancaina,” which is potatoes with a spicy cheese sauce.
Aji Chile Pepper
Origin: Peru
Color: Yellow
Use: Variety of dishes and condiments
Scoville: 1,177 – 75,000
Hot Fact: These peppers are also generally known as the Peruvian hot pepper.
Bird’s Eye Chili Peppers
Origin: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand
Color: Red, yellow, purple, black.
Use: Pasta, soup, sauces, dips.
Scoville: 50,000- 100,000
Hot Fact: The Bird’s Eye Chili was the original chili used in sriracha sauce.
Bishop’s Crown Chili Pepper
Origin: South America
Color: Green to Red
Use: Salsas and salads, dried, pickled
Scoville: 5,000-30,000
Hot Fact: This unique pepper is also referred to as a “joker’s hat” due to it’s odd shape and three sides.
Bolivian Rainbow Chili Pepper
Origin: Bolivia
Color: Purple, yellow, orange, red.
Use: Salads, salsa, dried, pickled
Scoville: 30,000 – 50,000
Hot Fact: Though their color gives off a friendly,fruity feel – beware! They pack a surprising punch yet add a delicious touch to salsas sauces.
Cayenne Pepper
Origin: Cayenne, New Guinea
Color: Red
Use: Salt and pepper alternative, fresh, powdered
Scoville: 30,000 -50,000
Hot Fact: This pepper’s name comes from the French city of Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana.
Charleston Hot
Origin: Charleston, South Carolina
Color: Green to Yellow to Red
Use: Any sauce or dish you would typically use cayenne with but want extra heat.
Scoville: 70,000 – 100,000
Hot Fact: This pepper gets its name due to being created by the United States Department of Agriculture in Charleston, South Carolina.
Chile De Arbol
Origin: Mexico
Color: Red
Use: When these peppers are dried they are used to make ristas. Also used in any dish that requires heat like chili, salsa, and hot sauces.
Scoville: 15,000-30,000
Hot Fact: These peppers are also referred to “pico de pajaro” (bird beak) due to their shape as well as a “cola de rata” due to it’s resemblance to a rat tail.
Chiltepin
Origin: Northern Mexico and Southern Texas
Color: Red
Use: Dried and crushed, used in soups, stews, and bean dishes.
Scoville: 50,000-100,000
Hot Fact: Chiltepin is the only chili that naturally originates from the United States.
Dundicut Peppers
Origin: Pakistan
Color: Dark Red
Use: These small peppers will add heat to any dish you want to make!
Scoville: 55,000 – 65, 000
Hot Fact: The dundicut pepper is the national pepper of Pakistan
Guntur Sannam Chili Peppers
Origin: Andhra Pradesh, India
Color: Red
Use: Condiment, culinary supplement, vegetable.
Scoville: 35, 000 – 40,000
Hot Fact: In India, this is a cash crop for those in Guntur, Warangal, and Khammam.
Peter Peppers
Origin: Texas and Louisiana
Color: Red
Use: Salsa
Scoville: 5,000 – 30,000
Hot Fact: These peppers are considered very rare throughout the world and are known for their unique shape.
Rocoto Chili Peppers
Origin: South America
Color: Red
Use: Stuffed, soups, sauces
Scoville: 30,000 – 100,000
Hot Fact: These peppers have dark brown to black seeds unlike any other pepper.
Serrano Chili Pepper
Origin: Puebla and Hildago Mexico
Color: Red, Brown, Green, Orange, Yellow
Use: Salsa, sauce, relish, garnish.
Scoville – 5,000- 23,000
Hot Fact: This pepper originates in the mountains of Mexico.
Tobasco Chili Pepper
Origin: Mexico
Color: Yellow – Red – Orange
Use: Used to make a very famous hot sauce. Maybe you’ve heard of it.
Scoville: 30,000 – 50,000
Hot Fact: In it’s early years, tobasco sauce, derived from the tobasco pepper, was distributed in cologne bottles.
Thai Chili Pepper
Origin: Thailand
Color: Red
Use: Curries, relish, pastes, steamed
Scoville: 50,000 – 100,000
Hot Fact: Sririacha sauce was originally made from the Bird’s Eye pepper, then the Thai Chili pepper, now it is made from Red Serrano peppers!