500 ~ 1,000 Scoville Units
One of the more common peppers in Peru, this is a dark red mild chile with a fruity, smoky taste. It goes well with stews, sauces, and in fish dishes. Try blending it with chocolate or as a rub on your favorite piece of meat prior to grilling.

6,000 ~ 10,000  Scoville Units

Also known as Halaby Pepper, Aleppo has a moderate heat and a high oil content that doesn’t overpower its fruitiness.  It has a deliciously deep, aromatic flavor and is a wonderful substitute for traditional chile flakes.

500 ~ 3,000 Scoville Units
Also known as a New Mexican Chile, this is Anaheim chiles that have been ripened, dried, and ground.  Ripening enables a more developed sweetness and complex flavor than the unripe green chile.   Essential to new Mexican cuisine, it is typically used to make Chile Colorado .

1,500 ~ 3,000 Scoville Units
Anchos have a mild, sweet, fruity flavor.  An Ancho is a dried Poblano Pepper and often is mis-labeled as a Pasilla or Mulato pepper. Combined with Pasilla Negro and Guajillo, it forms the Holy Trinity of chiles used to make moles.

1,000 to 1,500 Scoville Units

Ancho translates as “wide” and is essentially a dried poblano.  With a somewhat sweet flavor with hints of raisins, plums, and a mild heat, it is among the most widely used chiles.

50,000 to 100,000 Scoville Units

Also known as Piri-Piri, Pequin, or Thai Bird Chile, this fiery little chile is essential to ethnic African, Thai, and Portuguese cooking.  It is commonly used to add heat to sauces, marinades, and dry rubs.

1,500 to 3,000 Scoville Units

Cascabel means “little bell” and has a mild acidic bite with a nutty, tobacco-like flavor and smoky overtones.  Use in sauces, stews, soups, and relishes as well as casseroles and salsas

30,000 ~ 50,000 Scoville Units


The Cayenne is a red, hot, chile pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes.  Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is related to bell peppers, jalapenos, and others.

5,000 ~ 6,000 Scoville Units
These are dried and crushed chiles including the membranes and seeds.  They are commonly used to add mild heat to many dishes.

3,500 to 8,000 Scoville Units

These chiles are smoked for a much longer time than Morita chipotles.  As such, they are rarer and highly prized.  They have a strong smoky flavor with hints of grass and fruit. Use to flavor sauces, stews, salsas, marinades, and moles.

3,500 to 8,000 Scoville Units

Typically smoked jalapenos, the morita or “little blackberry” is the most commonly known chile in North America.  They have a sweet, smoky flavor with hints of chocolate and a fairly consistent heat. Use to season sauces, stews, salsas, chili, marinades, and soups.

25,000 to 35,000 Scoville Units

A favorite in Mexican cuisine, de Arbol, meaning “treelike”,have a bold heat and a nutty, grass-like flavor with hints of smoke. Use them in sauces, soups, stews, rubs, stir frys, and in chili or tamales.

880,000 to 1,014,000 Scoville Units

Also known as the Bhut Jolokia or Naga Morich, the Ghost Pepper is similar in appearance to the Habanero but is 2-3 times as hot. With an intense flavor and insane heat, this chile can hurt you. Wear gloves, hold at a distance, and don’t touch anything you might regret.  Enjoy…cautiously.

2,500 ~ 5,000 Scoville Units

Guajillo ‘s flavor is slightly fruity with a piney, berry under taste.  A little can go a long way.  Combined with Pasilla Negro and Ancho, it forms the Holy Trinity of chiles used to make moles.

2,500 to 3,000 Scoville Units

Guajillo chiles have a fruity taste with a hint of pine and berry.  They have a slight smokiness with a mild warmth.  Among the most commonly used chiles in Mexico, they are frequently used in sauces, stews, and soups.

200,000 to 350,0500 Scoville Units

The Hanbanero has a fruity, and sometimes floral flavor.  Related to the Scotch Bonnet, its intense heat lingers and pairs well with salsas, ceviche, fruit, cheese, and tomato dishes

5,000 ~ 8,000 Scoville Units

Probably the most common chile pepper in the U.S., Jalapeno powder is made from grinding the whole chile. This powder will give a fresh “green” heat to your favorite recipe.

Kashmiri Chile Powder is essential for providing the deep red coloring and rich flavor characteristic of many Indian dishes.  Similar to a hot Hungarian Paprika, it has a mild bite with a lingering heat and a somewhat fruity flavor.  Commonly used in Tandoori and curry dishes.

4,000 ~ 8,000 Scoville Units

Also known as Gochugaru, this chile is indispensable when preparing Korean cuisine, especially Kimchee.  It has a fruity flavor with a pronounced bite and is a great substitute for regular Chile Flakes.

Dried and roasted chiles.  This is pure Chile powder with nothing else added.  Makes a great base for your chili, tacos, or rubs.

2,500 to 3,000 Scoville Units

The Mulato chile is also a dried Poblano, but one that has ripened to a deep brown before being picked and dried.  This imparts a complex flavor that has hints of coffee, chocolate, licorice, and cherries.  Essential to making moles.

2,000 to 10,000 Scoville Units

Possessing a sweet, earthy flavor, the New Mexican Chile is most often used to make many of the classic New Mexican red sauces such as Chile Colorado.  Try adding it to stews, sauces, dry rubs, and marinades.  Related to the Anaheim chile but typically is a bit hotter.

1,000 ~ 2,000 Scoville Units

This chile has a rich earthiness with hints of bitter chocolate and fruit.  Combined with Ancho and Guajillo, it forms the Holy Trinity of chiles used to make moles.

1,000 to 2,500 Scoville Units

With a deep black color and raisin-like aroma, the Pasilla, along with the  Ancho and Mulato, form the “Holy Trinity” of chiles used to make moles.  With hints of bitter chocolate and berries, it is excellent in sauces and with seafood.

5,000 to 15,000 Scoville Units

Also known as a Pulla, it has a light fruity flavor with a hint of licorice.  Similar to a Guajillo, it has a more intense pungent heat.  Use in stews, sauces, marinades, and rubs.

8,000 ~ 22,000 Scoville Units

Matured on the vine to a bright red, the Serrano is then slowly smoked.  This creates a lingering spicy flavor, with hints of berry and a rich depth.  Excellent in sauces, stews, and casseroles.

8,000 to 22,000 Scoville Units

Matured on the vine to a bright red, the Serrano is then slowly smoked. This creates a lingering spicy flavor with hints of berry and a rich depth.  Primarily a savory  chile, it is excellent in sauces, stews, and casseroles as well as chili.

4,000 ~ 8,000 Scoville Units

The Urfa Pepper, also known as Isot Pepper is grown in the Urfa region of Turkey.  It is sun dried during the day and then wrapped and sweated at night.  This produces a pepper with a wonderful smoky, raisin-like flavor that is reminiscent of dried fruits and tobacco.