A Pepper Primer

Ancho, the most widely used dried pepper in Mexican cookery, is scarcely hot at all, but gives texture and an earthy, brick-like aroma to sauces. It’s the dried form of the bell pepper-sized poblano, the pepper that is usually stuffed for chiles rellenos.

* The mulato is also a mild dried pepper, sweeter and more flavorful than the ancho. It can be hard to tell the difference between the two, but a mulato has a tougher, less wrinkled skin with a definite brown tinge, while the ancho is reddish.

* Cuaresmen~o is the name used in Mexico City for the jalapen~o. When smoked and dried, the jalapen~o/cuaresmen~o is known as chipotle (in this country mostly available canned in sauce-- en adobo --rather than as a dried pepper).

Pasilla is a long, thin, blackish dried pepper with a fairly hot flavor. In California markets it is often referred to as chile negro.