Chili Peppers a Good Crop for the Mojave Desert

We had such great luck with chili peppers last year I thought I would compile this information for you on the types of chili peppers. It is too early yet to say that our climate is good for chili peppers but I thought last year was a good indicator that we should continue to test them. 
 

Field grown peppers in Sonora, Mexico

There has been some interest by volunteers to pursue the Hatch type of chili pepper at the UNCE Orchard. So I thought I would compile this list of types of chilis for reference. We will be looking more closely at chilis this coming year and for several years ahead. Remember we need about three years worth of good data to make recommendations but at this point the peppers look promising. 
 

Field grown peppers bagged for shipment in Sonora, Mexico

If you have interest in chilis I would highly recommend that you visit the Chili Pepper Institute’s website at New Mexico State University and can be found at http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org

Types of Chili Peppers

Pasilla chili pepper: 250 - 3,999 Scovilles: Pasilla or "little raisin" properly refers to the dried chilaca pepper. The chilaca, when fresh, is also known as pasilla bajio, or as the chile negro or "Mexican negro" because, while it starts off dark green, it ends up dark brown. It typically grows from 8 to 10 inches long.

Paprika chili pepper: 250 - 1000 Scovilles. A large, cone-shaped chili pepper. It is dried and ground to make the more familiar powdered spice.

Santa Fe Grande chili pepper: 500 - 700 Scovilles. Also known as the yellow hot chile and the guero chile. Approximately 5 inches long and ripen from greenish-yellow, to orange-yellow to red.

Anaheim chili pepper: 500 - 1,000 Scovilles. Also known as the yellow hot chile and the guero chile. Approximately 5 incheslong and ripen from greenish-yellow, to orange-yellow to red.

Poblano chili pepper: 1,000 - 2,000 Scovilles. The poblano is an extremely popular chili peppers. 4 inches long, very dark green in color, ripening to dark red or brown.

Ancho chili pepper: 1,000 - 2,000 Scovilles. An Ancho pepper is dried form of the poblano chili pepper.

Hatch chili peppers: 1,000 - 2,500 Scovilles. Hatch chili peppers are grown and harvested in Hatch Valley, New Mexico. They are harvested in late July and early August and have a mild to medium flavor. The peppers are long and curved, much like the Anaheim chili pepper, and are perfect for stuffing.

Cascabel chili peppers: 1,000-3,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Cascabel Chile is grown in several areas of Mexico. It is small and round, 2-3 cm in diameter, and matures to a deep red.

Picuante/ Peppadew chili pepper: 1,177 Scovilles. Capsicum baccatum. The Peppadew is grown in the Limpopo province of South Africa, and is actually the brand name of sweet piquanté peppers.

Aji chili pepper: 1,177 - 75,000 Scovilles. Also known generally as the Peruvian hot pepper, aji is the common name primarily in South America and areas of the Caribbean for chili peppers.

Mulato chili pepper: 2,500-3,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Mulato is a mild to medium dried Poblano, similar to the Ancho, but with a slightly different flavor.

Guajillo chili pepper: 2,500-5,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Guajillo is one of the most common and popular chiles grown and used in Mexico. It is mild to moderately hot, and has dark, reddish brown, leathery skin.

Jalapeno chili pepper: 2,500 - 8,000 Scovilles. The world's most popular chili pepper! Harvested when they are green or red if allowed to ripen, about 4-6 inches long. A chipotle is a smoked jalapeno chili pepper.

Chipotle chili pepper: 2,500 - 8,000 Scovilles. A chipotle is a smoked jalapeno chili pepper. You'll notice the distinctive smoky flavor of certain foods like salsas that have been prepared with chipotle peppers. Very delicious.

Morita chili pepper: 2,500 - 8,000 Scovilles. A smoked red jalapeno, similar to a chipotle pepper.

Fresno chili pepper: 2,500-10,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Fresno pepper looks and tastes almost like a jalapeno, but they can be much hotter. Fresno peppers change from green to red as they grow, and increase in hotness, but they are often harvested and sold as green.

Serrano pepper: 5,000 - 23,000 Scovilles. A smaller version of the jalapeno, similar in color, but smaller, about 1 to 2 inches long, 1/2 inch wide. Dark green to redish in color. Getting spicier!

Bishop’s Crown chili pepper: 5,000-30,000 Scovilles. Capsicum baccatum. This chile is a member of the Capsicum Baccatum species, which includes the Ají pepper.

Aleppo: About 10,000 Scovilles. Capsicum Annuum. The Aleppo pepper, also known as the Halaby pepper, is named after the city of Aleppo in Northern Syria. It is commonly grown in Syria and Turkey, and is usually dried and crushed.

Chile de Árbol chili pepper: Sources rate this chile in 2 categories- 15,000-30,000 and 50,000-65,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. Chiles de Árbol are small and thin Mexican peppers, growing to 2-3 inches long and less than a ½ inch wide.

Tabasco pepper: 30,000 - 50,000 Scovilles. Yep, this is the chili pepper used in Tabasco sauce. The fruit is tapered and under 2 inches long. The color is usually creamy yellow to red.

Cayenne pepper: 30,000 - 50,000 Scovilles. A thin chile pepper, green to red in color, about 2 to 3 inches long. The "cayenne pepper" spice you use is the dried, ground version of this pepper.

Chile Pequin chili pepper: 30,000-60,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. Also spelled Piquin, this chile is also called Bird Pepper, because it is consumed and spread by wild birds.

Rocoto chili pepper: 30,000 - 100,000 Scovilles. AKA the Manzano pepper. This chili pepper is normally found in South America. It is among the oldest of domesticated chili peppers, and was grown up to as much as 5000 years ago. It is probably related to undomesticated chili peppers that still grow in South America.

Guntur Sannam chili pepper: 35,000-40,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Guntur Sannam chilli is grown in and around Guntur and Warangal in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.

Tien Tsin pepper: 50,000 - 75,000 Scovilles.  The Tien Tsin is named after the province in China where its harvest originally took place. 

Chiltepin chili pepper: 50,000 to 100,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. The Chiltepin, or Chiltepine, is a tiny, round or oval shaped, red to orange-red chile, measuring about .8cm in diameter.

Thai chili pepper: 50,000 - 100,000 Scovilles. Despite the common belief, there is no single "Thai chili pepper" though most candidates for the title are small in size and high in heat or pungency. There are at least 79 separate varieties of chili that have appeared from three species in Thailand.

Dundicut chili pepper: 55,000-65,000 Scovilles. Capsicum annuum. These small, round chili peppers from Pakistan grow to about ½ inch to 1 inch in diameter, and are dark red in color.

Scotch bonnet: 100,000 - 350,000 Scovilles. This pepper is a cultivar of the habanero and is among the hottest peppers anywhere.  Its name derives from its resemblance to the Scottish Tam o’ Shanter hat, though it appears primarily in the Carribean and in Guyana and the Maldives.

Habanero chili pepper: 100,000 - 350,000 Scovilles. Related to the Scotch Bonnet. This one is the granddaddy of all the hot peppers in terms of heat level. Grown mainly on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, its coloring is yellow-orange, orange or bright red, depending upon when it's harvested. Average Size 1 to 2 1/2 inches long and 1 to 2 inches diameter and tam-shaped.

Caribbean Red Habanero: 300,000 - 475,000 Scovilles. This extremely hot pepper, originally from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, is now also cultivated in the Carribean and around North America.

Red Savina Habanero: 200,000 - 580,000 Scovilles. This pepper is a cultivar of the habanero.  It once held the Guinness Record for the hottest chili pepper, but the Bhut Jolokia now claims that prize. 

Bhut Jolokia: 1,001,304 Scovilles. Now, truly the hottest chili pepper around!

Naga Jolokia - It's just another name for the Bhut Jolokia chili pepper.

Ghost Pepper or Ghost Chili - It's just another name for the Bhut Jolokia chili pepper.

Naga Viper - 1,359,000 Scovilles. A hybrid created in late 2010, this pepper is hotter than the Naga Jolokia (or Bhut Jolokia) by 300,000 Scovilles.