Green chili: How high on the heat scale?

<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://www.terebess.hu/tiszaorveny/fuszer/green_chili4.jpg" border="1" align="left"></td></tr></table>There's a curried mutton stew that I enjoy making every now and then that I've traditionally made using a mild store-bought curry powder. Lately, though, I have been playing around with the spices and have decreased the proportion of store-bought curry powder to about a third, using cumin for half the amount, and coriander for the remaining sixth. This is all well and good, but now I am getting in the mood for a bit of heat in this stew.

Enter the pretty green chili pepper.

I haven't traditionally done anything with this attractive variety of pepper before, basically because I haven't been all that crazy about hot foods. But this mutton stew just seems to call out for a bit of heat, and seeing as the stew itself has a yellow/green colour in the end from the turmeric/cumin and the chopped geen beans that I add towards the end, I think that a bit of green chili makes for a harmonious addition.

The thing I'm wondering about is this: How many of these little suckers would one add to, say, a quantity of two litres of finished stew just to get some palpable heat ... but not fire alarm levels of heat? The key consideration: I would still like the dish to be wine-friendly.

I hope the question is intuitively meaningful to our resident chefs.

Thanks in advance.

A hard question without knowing what kind of green chile you have there. Have you tasted one to determine its heat? One thing I'd do for sure before using the green chile is to roast it and peel it so you won't have bit of tough skin to deal with.

<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://www.terebess.hu/tiszaorveny/fuszer/green_chili4.jpg" border="1" align="left"></td></tr></table>There's a curried mutton stew that I enjoy making every now and then that I've traditionally made using a mild store-bought curry powder. Lately, though, I have been playing around with the spices and have decreased the proportion of store-bought curry powder to about a third, using cumin for half the amount, and coriander for the remaining sixth. This is all well and good, but now I am getting in the mood for a bit of heat in this stew.

Enter the pretty green chili pepper.

I haven't traditionally done anything with this attractive variety of pepper before, basically because I haven't been all that crazy about hot foods. But this mutton stew just seems to call out for a bit of heat, and seeing as the stew itself has a yellow/green colour in the end from the turmeric/cumin and the chopped geen beans that I add towards the end, I think that a bit of green chili makes for a harmonious addition.

The thing I'm wondering about is this: How many of these little suckers would one add to, say, a quantity of two litres of finished stew just to get some palpable heat ... but not fire alarm levels of heat? The key consideration: I would still like the dish to be wine-friendly.

I hope the question is intuitively meaningful to our resident chefs.

Thanks in advance.

Mutton? I think you'd be wise to add about a dozen Dorchester Nagas.

Best advice is to put what you think is a safe amount in, then after it's been cooking for a while, taste it and if need be add more (ideally have another 1 or 2 chopped, de-seeded and ready to add).
One thing I don't do enough of is to actually taste the food before it's served. When you think about it, it's daft to guess the right amount of seasoning, when your taste buds are more effective.

regards

Ian

Thanks, gents, for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

I'm still not entirely clear on what the proper names for the different hot peppers are - I was thinking about the thin, small, dark-green ones, not the small roundish ones (the roundish ones are habaneros, is that right?) I may experiment and try both on different occasions to see if there are different flavour nuances imparted by each one.

Thanks, gents, for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

I'm still not entirely clear on what the proper names for the different hot peppers are - I was thinking about the thin, small, dark-green ones, not the small roundish ones (the roundish ones are habaneros, is that right?) I may experiment and try both on different occasions to see if there are different flavour nuances imparted by each one.

Er...I was kidding, Paul. Do *not* follow my advice!

Is this an actual picture of the chiles you have, Paul?

Actually Cynthia, they are the most common kind that are available here in the vegetable stores in my parts. I do see the other ones as well, but the thin green ones (and they tend to be much darker-green than those pictured here) are most common. I also think they're the prettiest

Ok then.

Lately it seems that there is quite a bit of variance in the degree of heat in chiles. Sometimes we get jalapenos that might as well be bell peppers, and other times they are so hot my medium-heat-tolerance best friend can't eat them. Or even be in the same room with them!

I would start with one of these as they are most likely serranos, which can be quite hot, especially to Canadians. And to play down the heat, take out the seeds and inner membranes. And wear rubber gloves while doing this. And don't touch your eyes.... or, er, any other sensitive areas!

Oh, and yes, do roast them as Larry suggests. Adds an interesting note.

Paul,

Those look like serranos. If so, they're pretty high in the heat department. Well behind habaneros/scotch bonnets and Thai bird chiles (which look sort of like miniature versions of serranos), but hotter than jalapenos, Anaheims, or the long green chiles most common in US supermarkets.

As suggested, removing the seeds and the white membrane cuts down on the heat. And you do want to use gloves with these babies, and to avoid touching the eyes or sensitive skin while working with them.

Most of the Indian recipes I've seen call for 1-3 serrano-style chiles, but some of these recipes also have several peppercorns or dried chiles in them.

Start out with one serrano, and see how it goes.

-Paul W.

Paul,

Those look like serranos. If so, they're pretty high in the heat department. Well behind habaneros/scotch bonnets and Thai bird chiles (which look sort of like miniature versions of serranos), but hotter than jalapenos, Anaheims, or the long green chiles most common in US supermarkets.

As suggested, removing the seeds and the white membrane cuts down on the heat. And you do want to use gloves with these babies, and to avoid touching the eyes or sensitive skin while working with them.

Most of the Indian recipes I've seen call for 1-3 serrano-style chiles, but some of these recipes also have several peppercorns or dried chiles in them.

Start out with one serrano, and see how it goes.

-Paul W.

Those in the basket look to be too long for serranos. I think it more likely they're cayennes. Of course, they could be any of dozens and dozens of Asian or South American hybrids. There's really only one way to know for sure just how hot a given chile is - taste it before you decide how much to use in a dish.

And, should you roast them - make sure you know the heat level beforehand. *Very* hot chiles will drive you right out of the kitchen.

And, should you roast them - make sure you know the heat level beforehand. *Very* hot chiles will drive you right out of the kitchen.

Ain't dat da troot!! I have the habit of sautéeing pork chops with sliced jalapeños (or worse) and then deglazing the pan with the brine the jalapeños came in. I practically need an environmental suit not to have my eyes and lungs fried.

Managed to grow some little b*stards from seed this year. Got the seeds from Puglia and not only have I got one plant producing little chillis, but another in the greenhouse and at least 2 more given away to friends (one of those is doing very nicely).

Had one this week and it certainly backs up the generalism that the smaller the chilli the hotter it is ... and these ones are very small

I'm going to be making my stew again this weekend, so I've been looking around lately.

I did find a couple of smaller mom-n-pop produce stores that had them, but they sold them pre-packaged in bulk, with way more than I could possibly use. And these were full of mold, evidently from having been packed in styrofoam and covered with plastic wrap.

Oddly, I was shopping around the specialty Chinese-run produce stores this morning and couldn't find any of the little green chillies - the supermarket, of all places, has them regularly and sells them loose.

Finally I was able to do some searching and came across this page listing different peppers and their heat levels given in Scoville Units.

It appears that jalapeños are milder than the green cayennes (the ones I had originally asked about - I called them green chillies but now it's obvious that cayennes are what I had in mind).

Most of the others, with the exception of the ubiquitous sweet bell peppers, habaneros and Scotch bonnets, are varieties I have never seen around here.

You really need to try some green chile from New Mexico. If you get a variety that's not superhot (for your Canadian tastebuds, eh), you'll experience a wonderful chile taste unlike any others. And you'll get hooked.

Down here in New Mexico, green chile is close to a religion. It's available in just about anything: pizza, hamburgers, eggs, etc., etc. In fact, New Mexico has an official state question: Red or green? (Which refers to the type of chile you want with your food.)

Down here in New Mexico, green chile is close to a religion.

As it should be!

Red or green?

And which is your favorite, Larry?

For me it depends on what I'm having. Had a great chile relleno plate last night at The Range in Bernalillo.... red.

I come down firmly on "it depends."

I come down firmly on "it depends."

I knew you were a wise man. After all, you are agreeing with me!