The word Chipotle is derived from the Nahuatl word ‘chilpoctli’ which means ‘smoked chili’. There is only one primary ingredient in Chipotle Powder and that is jalapeno peppers.

After re-hydrating, the chiles can be easily chopped or pureed to a paste to use in seasoning your dish. Chipotle powder is a mildly spicy chili powder made from chipotle peppers, which are smoked and dried jalapeno peppers. It is perfect for adding smokiness and flavor to many dishes. Learn all about it and how to make it. Mexican cuisine is known for its extensive flavor profile and use of local ingredients. This includes its dried chiles, which are used in many different ways to add flavor and spice to dishes. Make sure that the smoker is clean. Grease and fat drippings inside will influence the flavor of the chipotles negatively. This pepper is a chile jalapeño that has to ripen to a red color on the plant then harvested and dried and smoked to achieve that color and flavor.Shape: The Piquín pepper has a small but elongated shape, measuring about ¼” long and ⅛” in width. The Chile Tepin is very similar but is round. Substitutions for Ancho Chile Peppers: These are one of the more common chile peppers, making them pretty easy to find. However, you can substitute mulato or guajillo chile peppers. Or, use 1 tsp ancho chile powder (or paprika) per chile called for in your recipe. Chipotle Powder is used extensively across Mexican cuisine and has become a signature flavor for this type of food. It is also a prominent feature in Southwestern cooking and Tex Mex dishes. It is a funky, spicy flavor that is perfect for burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Not only that, but you can also use it to add color and spiciness to the likes of stews, soups, and curries.

The smoked jalapeño peppers are dried and then crushed up to give you this superfine, spicy powder that adds tons of earthy flavor and spice to any dish. The Pasilla pepper is called “Pasilla” because its dark and wrinkly skin resembles that of prunes or raisins, which in Mexico are called “ciruelas pasas” and “pasitas”, respectively. This pepper is a dried version of the Chile Poblano. It has a slightly sweeter flavor and it can be found dried or roasted in its fresh state. The difference between Chile Ancho and Chile Mulato comes from a pair of distinctive genes that makes them ripen in a special color. Nowadays, most of the process is done by industrial drying machines, but there are still a few regional small producers that smoke and dry the peppers using old-fashioned methods with Guava and Oakwood.Remember that even though you might store them well, the peppers can still lose their flavor and become crumbly with time. Don't Forget To Toast Them! How To Buy: Make sure the skin is thin and smooth. The Mulato pepper should have a dry texture with no visible dots or ridges. Recipes Using This Pepper Chipotle Morita: the ripe and red jalapeño is lightly smoked for around half of the time that a chipotle meco is. Traditionally the chipotle morita can be smoked for 1 – 4 days depending on the flavor profile. Since the smoking time is lower, the chipotle morita retains a lot more fruitiness, while the chipotle meco has a deeper smoke flavor. Ancho: The all-purpose pepper, anchos are dried Poblanos, with a meaty texture, a rich flavor, and a mild, smoldering heat. They add great flavor and heft to sauces and blend well with a wide variety of ingredients.

While dried chile peppers might seem a bit intimidating to use, there’s really a quite simple process to getting their fantastic flavor. Color: When is fresh, it's a Chile Poblano, and once it matures, it changes to a red color. To dry them, the fresh chile poblanos are left on the plant until they are mature and had a red color. After that, they are sun-dried. Cascabels are great substitutes for hotter red chiles if you’re looking for lots of flavor without the heat. Chipotle peppers are basically ripened jalapeño chiles that have been smoked and dried. They can be ground and used in many Mexican and Tex Mex cooking and are typically sold in a rich, smokey flavored adobo sauce.Color: When it dries, the color is almost like a deep reddish-brown, very close to a chocolate color. It also has a smooth skin texture with no bumps or ridges on the surface. The dried Chile Árbol is a chile árbol that has been dried. This pepper has an acidic flavor to it with some heat behind it. Be careful when you eat this dried pepper because sometimes they can be spicier than the fresh version of them. How To Use Chipotle Chile Peppers: Chipotle chile peppers are often used in Tex-Mex cooking. They add a nice smokiness to sauces and robust meat dishes. It is most common to find them canned or jarred with an adobo marinade of vinegar, paprika, and spices which creates a tasty sauce and acts to preserve the chiles. The adobo is just as useful in the kitchen as the chiles themselves! Shape: This dried chile has a long and narrow shape, measuring about 1½ inches in length and ⅔ inches in width. Mexican cuisine relies heavily on dried chile peppers to add a deep and robust flavor to sauces, soups, salsas, and more.