There’s nothing like a fresh chili pepper to add a kick to your favorite dish — a bowl of Vietnamese pho, guacamole, salsa or poke. Not only do chili peppers add heat; they add their vegetable flavor that can be sweet, earthy and, of course, spicy.
Many varieties of chili peppers are available at farmers markets and supermarkets. The long, bright green, tapered Anaheim is mild in spiciness with a thick flesh; roast them, stuff them or sauté them to use in a taco or quesadilla. These are what you find in a can labeled green chili; fresh is better.
Jalapeño chilies, red or green, are about 3 inches long, tapered from the stem to their pointed end, thick-fleshed and possessed of considerable heat. Red ones tend to be sweeter; dried and smoked, they are known as chipotles.
Thick-fleshed Serrano chilies are about 2 inches long, cylindrical with a rounded end, and endowed with lots of heat.
Thai chilies are thin and pointed, about 2 inches long, with a thin flesh and lots of seeds; this chili gives off a heat that lingers. Hawaiian chili peppers are shorter but deliver lots of heat, too.
Green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers are part of the same family. They just don’t have the heat their fiery cousins possess. Rocotos, habaneros and Scotch bonnets are on the other end of the heat scale, all small, roundish in shape with furrows and very hot.
Choosing chili peppers for their spicy heat can be confusing. Smaller chilies tend to be hotter than large ones because they have more seeds and internal ribbing, which contain most of the capsaicin, or heat-giving chemical.
Removing seeds and ribs will tone down the heat of a chili. Red chilies tend to be riper and sweeter.
Work with chilies carefully since capsaicin burns the skin. And when your mouth and lips are on fire, dairy products are the best antidotes.
Fresh chilies should be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels; plastic bags will encourage spoilage. Freeze them for longer storage.
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Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown.
