

Habanero Pepper
Many people ask us, “How can you guys sort out all of those chiles? How do you know which ones to use with what?” Believe us, it took a lot of research, tastings, and more than a few burned mouths to learn about all of the subtleties of flavor that these delicious fruits can bring to our cuisine here at BARRIO.
There are two main types of chiles, dried and fresh. Fresh chiles are characterized by their grassy, vegetal and under ripe flavors. They are typically used raw or roasted and then the skin is removed. The majority of the fresh chiles we use at BARRIO are green chiles, though we also use the habaneros which are orange, and fresnos, which are fire engine red.
When chiles are allowed to grow until completely ripe and then dry out on the plant itself, you have a dried chile instead of a fresh one. Dried chiles have aromas of leather and other dried fruits like raisins. Because they have been dried, and therefore the ratio of capsaicin (the compound in chiles that makes them hot) to their overall volume has increased, dried chiles are often more picante than their fresh counterparts.
When thinking of chiles, it is important to know how hot they are going to be. In Spanish, we use the word picante to describe chile heat so that it does not get confused with a dish’s actual temperature. We use what is known as the Scoville Scale to measure chile heat. Bold indicates chiles that we use or will use at Barrio.
Scoville Rating Type of Pepper
- 15,000,000 - 16,000,000 Pure Capsaicin
- 2,000,000 - 5,300,000 Standard U.S. Grade Pepper Spray
- 850,000 - 1,050,000 Naga Jolokia aka Ghost Pepper (World’s Hottest Chile)
- 350,000 - 580,000 Red Savina Habanero (World’s Hottest Chile Hybrid)
- 100,000 - 350,000 Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Jamaican Hot Peppers
- 50,000 - 100,000 Pequin, Chiltepin, Thai Bird Chiles
- 30,000 - 50,000 Chile de Arbol
- 10,000 - 30,000 Cayenne, Chipotle Mora
- 5,000 - 10,000 Serrano, Chipotle en Adobo
- 2,500 - 5,000 Jalapeno, Guajillo, Cascabel
- 500 - 2,500 Anaheim, Ancho, Fresno, Pasilla, Poblano
- 100 - 500 Pepperoncini, Spanish Pimiento, Spanish Piquillo
- 0 - 100 Bell Peppers
Scoville units are used to measure the amount of capsaicin in the chile. This is done through a process called high performance liquid chromatography. We’re not sure how that works any more than you, but what it does provide is a scale to measure how much hotter one chile is than the other.
We hope this scale helps you determine just what dish at BARRIO you might want to taste. In future blogs we will feature specific chiles and tell you all there is to know about them.