Capsicum annuum
Origin: Mexico
Color/s: Brown and shriveled
Scoville Heat Units (SHU): (hot) 3,000-10,000
Size: 2–3½ inches
Shape: Flat, rounded and wrinkled
Other Interesting Facts:
- Pronounced chi-PHOT-lay, which comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoktli meaning “smoked chili pepper”
- A chipotle pepper is a smoke-dried Jalapeño pepper.
- Usually the Jalapeño peppers used for smoking are deep red and have lost most of their moisture
- The smoking affect attributes to the smokey flavor of the chipotle.
- Chipotle is used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex
- In Mexico chipotle is known as a morita (Spanish for blackberry or black raspberry; literally “little purple one”)
- Around ten pounds of jalapeños make one pound of chipotle
- Most chipotle chilies are produced in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua