[CH] Habpotles?
chilehead@tough-love.com
Fri, 8 Feb 2002 13:42:04 -0800
Dave DeWitt has several pages about smoked peppers in "The Chile Pepper
Encyclopedia". Of course he's only "The Pope of Peppers" wheras Jim Campbell
has achieved sainthood in his lifetime. I don't want to vioate any copyrights so I'll
only quote a couple of paragraphs. The book can be ordered at my bookstore:-)
"But the "Morita" is commonly marketed as the "Tipico Chipotle" because it can
bring two to four dollars more per pound with that name. Unfortuantely, most of the
"Chipotles" being sold in the United States are in actuality the inferior "Moritas". This
is because most of the "Chipotles" produced in Mexico are eaten there, leaving little
for export.
To make up for lack of the "Tipico" variety to export, producers in the northern
states of Mexico, particularly Chihuahua have turned to "Moritas", which are much
less expensive to produce. Unfortunately, they call the "Moritas" "Chipotles" and
sometimes claim that they have never heard of the "Tipico" variety. To further
confuse the issue, in the interior, the "Tipico" is known by brokers as "Veracruz".
Other varieties of smoked chiles include:
De cobain - A piquin chile that is smoked in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
Pasilla de Oaxaca - A variety of chile that is smoked in Oaxaca and used in the
famous "mole negro".
Jalapeno chico - Jalapenos that are smoked while still green. Usually they are culls
from the fresh market that need to be preserved, and the smoke drying process
obscures any blemishes.
Capones - This rare smoked chile is a red Jalapeno without seeds; the term means
"castrated ones". They are quite expensive and are rarely exported.
Habanero - Recently, a smoked habanero product has been introduced in the
United States. It is used as a very hot substituted for chipotles."
Fun stuff huh?