Wayne Gisslen

Peppers, Hot, or Chiles

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

  • About
  • Identification: Relatives of sweet peppers, but containing a compound called capsaicin, which makes them spicy hot. (Chile is the original Spanish spelling; also spelled chili and chilli.)
  • Related Varieties: Many varieties are available worldwide. The heat of any particular pepper is determined by how much capsaicin it contains and is measured in Scoville units. A mildly hot jalapeño averages 2,500 to 3,000 units, while the intensely hot habanero averages around 200,000 units. Commonly used fresh chiles include the jalapeño, serrano, poblano, California, New Mexico, Thai green, and cayenne.
  • Evaluation: See Peppers, Sweet.