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It's Time to Brush Up on Chile Basics

By Patrician Aaron
For the Journal
Chile peppers must be a favorite of Mother Nature because she made them in so many colors and varieties. She sends a sign of changing seasons as more and more green chiles ripen to red in New Mexico chile fields.

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Chile heat rated by Scoville units
10. 20,000-80,000 and up, habanero, tabasco
9. 15,000-20,000, Barker, cayenne
8. 10,000-15,000, jalape�o, serrano
7. 7,500-10,000, Floral Gem
6. 5,000-7,500, Sandia
5. 2,500-5,000, Fresno
4. 1,000-2,500, NuMex 6-4, ancho
3. 500-1,000, Big Jim, banana
2. 200-500, anaheim
1. 100-200, cherry, pimiento
0. 0, bell

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Green chiles vary from mild to merely hot to incendiary. The more mature the chile, the hotter it is. Among fresh chiles, NuMex 6-4 and Big Jim are fairly mild. Sandia and Espa�ola Improved have plenty of heat for most of us. Barker, a three-alarm chile, is suitable for those going for the burn.
Soaking roasted, peeled chiles in salted water for several hours can reduce their heat. Rinse chiles thoroughly before using.
Choose chile that is mature, heavy for its size, smooth and symmetrical, a bright green color, fresh and crisp. Avoid misshapen pods, shriveled skin, mold, soft spots and bruises. Refrigerate fresh green chile in plastic bags until ready to use.
The tough outer skin must be peeled from green chile. To blister for peeling, wash and dry the pods. Place on a baking sheet and broil 3 inches from the heat source, or use an outside grill. Turn often with tongs until the pods are blistered on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place blistered pods in a plastic or brown paper bag 15 minutes to steam and loosen peel.
If you have green chile roasted in bulk at a local vendor, make sure the roasted pods are placed in a food-safe plastic bag or an old pillowcase, not a plastic garbage bag.
Prepare chile for freezing, canning or drying within 2 hours of roasting, before bacteria begin to grow. Green chile can be frozen peeled or unpeeled in freezer bags or containers. Leave 1/2-inch headspace when using rigid containers. Freeze roasted chile at 0 degrees immediately after packing. Put no more chile into the home freezer than will freeze within 24 hours, about 2 to 3 pounds to each cubic foot of freezer capacity. Leave a little space between packages so air can circulate freely. Once frozen, the packages may be stored close together. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator and use within two days.
To can green chile, roast and remove the peel, stems and seeds. Pack prepared chile loosely into clean, hot jars. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1-inch head space. Attach lids and screw bands. Process half-pint or pint jars in a pressure canner 35 minutes at 13 pounds of pressure for 4,000 to 6,000 feet of altitude. Follow these directions carefully as green chile is a low-acid food and must be pressure-canned to be safe.
A popular misconception is that the hottest part of a green chile is the seeds. Actually, the heat comes from a substance called capsaicin that is concentrated in the white fibrous part of the chile, called the placenta, where the seeds are attached. The seeds are coated with capsaicin, too.
Capsaicin is the ingredient that puts the zip in ginger ale and ginger beer, and it is also used as a topical treatment for arthritis and psoriasis. Capsaicin stimulates pain receptors but also appears to block transmission of some pain signals. This might explain why some people get accustomed to hot foods and can tolerate increasingly hotter dishes.
Capsaicin will irritate any part of your skin, including your fingers. Protect your hands with a thin layer of solid fat or wear rubber gloves while working with chile. If chiles come in contact with sensitive skin, wash the affected area thoroughly with mild soap and warm water, then immerse the hands in vegetable oil until discomfort ceases. Cool water provides some relief, but it seldom provides long-term relief and in most cases will intensify and prolong the burning sensation.
On a relative heat scale of pepper types, sweet bell pepper is the mildest (0) and the fiery habanero the hottest (10). However, chile pepper heat is unpredictable. The relative hotness of green chile depends on the variety chosen, the location where it is grown and the time of year. The Scoville Organoleptic Test, a kind of Richter Scale for capsaicin, measures the pungency of chiles in multiples of 100 Scoville units. Very mild heat rates 200 or fewer units, while extremely hot chiles score over 10,000 units. Pure capsaicin measures 16 million Scoville units. (This is frickin HOT!)
Chile helps make up for the absence of fat and salt in food � a health bonus.


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Patricia Aaron is the Extension Home Economist with the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service and New Mexico State University.

I am a lover of all thing hot. I tried a pepper in Seattle called the Red Savina. The little asian guy told me (in broken english) Oh you like hot I got pepper for you red savina hottest pepper in world. You try? You try?
Me being sometimes dumb when peppers are involved said sure I'll try one. He cuts a peice off and hands it to me. I put it in my mouth and about died. Now I love hab's! but I was in noway ready for this hybreed hab of death!
When I got home to MT I looked them up on the net. They have been rated at a wrold record of 550.000 Scoville units
Most are in the 250.000-350.000 scoville range. I now use them in my Hot Sauce,but I do not eat them raw
X-Ring

So that was you & not a shooting star i saw blazing across the sky! What a moment huh?

Habanero's are ok but for me they don't have a Chili flavor, more fruity. I have 8 different types of Chili plants started for this spring. Ya gota start early here in WA State. I had some Piquin Chilis sitting on the table last week and a friend grabbed a small hand full and popped them into his mouth !! 140,000 heat units.
Love them Chilis Fuzz

I GREW JALAPNOS IN THE FLOWER BEDS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF MY HOUSE ABOUT 10 YRS AGO. I WOULD WATER THEM WITH AIR CONDITIONER RUN OFF I CAUGHT IN A BIG BUCKET. BETWEEN THE SUN AGAINST THE HOUSE (WHICH WAS ENHANCED BY THE WHITE SIDING)AND THE WATER OFF THE AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSER I HAD GALLONS AND GALLONS OF PEPPERS FROM JUST 6 PLANTS. I GAVE SOME OF THEM TO A FRIEND WHO WAS TRYING TO GET A BBQ SAUCE BUSINESS GOING IN EXCHANGE FOR SAUCE. I STILL HAVE ENOUGH TO LAST ME A COUPLE OF YRS. MY PLANTS REALLY PRODUCED ON THE CONBINATION OF SUN LIGHT AND THAT WATER.

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL...........