In terms of length, pasilla are typically six inches long or more (sometimes up to nine inches) and up to two inches wide. They aren’t nearly as wide-bodied as an ancho, yet these two chilies are often mislabeled as each other in grocery stores. If you’re trying to determine if you’re buying a pasilla or an ancho, consider the width and the color. They are the two biggest tells. Anchos can be up to four inches wide (compared to the pasilla’s two inch width) and pasillas tend to be much darker in hue. Pasilla (left) next to ancho (right) and guajillo (upper-right). What do pasilla peppers taste like? The three mirasol chiles (chile puya, chile guajillo, and chile cascabel) are similar, but there are some key differences. Guajillo peppers are versatile and can be used in various culinary applications. They’re great for grinding into powders, rehydrating whole for sauces, or frying or steeping for broths and stews. The Carolina Reaper pepper is the hottest pepper in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It may also be sold in its powder form, already ground. Alittle of this pepper goes a long way, so experiment first to see what level of flavor you prefer. How Hot is a Guajillo Pepper?

Place the guajillo peppers in a bowl and rinse them with cold water. Use your hands to move them around and even rub their skins. Do this to remove any dirt and debris they may have. Strain them and give them a final rinse.The final difference between these two types of peppers is their flavor. While it’s true that ancho peppers can make a good substitute for guajillo chiles in a pinch, you’ll find that they do have slightly different flavor profiles. Both can have earthy, sweet hints, but the guajillo will be much lighter and have more hints of plum or other fruits than the ancho pepper. via Canva Where to Buy Guajillo Peppers And it’s not just the spiciness that’s a better fit; the flavors, too, are better suited as a guajillo substitute. Pasillas are slightly sweet with hints of berry and cocoa. It’s not an exact match for the more tea-like earthiness of the guajillo, but it’s very close.

They are relatively mild compared to other Mexican chiles. For this reason, they make a great counterpart to spicier varieties like chile de árbol. 🔥 Spice levelThere’s a lot of flavor depth to the guajillo. First, they are sweet – much sweeter than you’d likely imagine. And with it comes a tanginess (think cranberry) with a hint of tea-like crispness. There’s also an underlying smokiness to its flavor. This is a pretty complex chili, and it’s easy to see why people love it so much. Cooking with guajillo

California: While milder than guajillos, California chiles (dried Anaheims) are within the same flavor family and make a great substitution. The word pasillaliterally means “little raisin” in Spanish, and while this chili is nowhere near little, it definitely has shades of raisin in its looks. The skin is a dark brownish-red (darker than an ancho or guajillo) and wrinkled, like a raisin’s skin. The darker hue is also why the pasilla is sometimes also named chile negro. Chipotle Peppers: Chipotles are actually smoked jalapeño peppers, so they have a similar heat level to guajillos. However, their smoky flavor gives them a distinct taste that you'll need to take into account when using them as a substitute for guajillos. But chipotles are a good choice if you're looking for some extra depth of flavor in your dish.Ancho peppers are another member of the Mexican“Holy Trinity” of chilies, and they are typically much easier to find in stores. Most specialty Mexican grocers and even some super markets carry this dried form of the poblano pepper. Guajillo peppers range in size, but they are typically around one inch wide and can be up to six inches long. The dried peppers will have a slightly leathery texture but should still be pliable. Spice It Up. Recipes can vary from kitchen to kitchen, mostly depending on the different spices used. I use simple cumin and sea salt, along with fresh garlic, and let the guajillo peppers shine, as they have a wonderful flavor on their own. Feel free to use this as a base recipe, and adjust with other herbs and seasonings you prefer, such as spicy chili powders, Mexican oregano, dried basil, cloves. You can also add a touch of sweetness by adding honey or brown sugar.

Cook the Vegetables. Heat a bit more oil in the same pan to medium heat. Cook the onion and jalapeno peppers until they soften up, about 5 minutes or so. Since they do have a mild heat, you'll frequently see them working as a team player to provide flavor while other dried chiles supply the heat. For example, in our Peanut Chile Salsa we use Guajillos and Chile de Arbols, and in our Salsa Rojawe pair them with Anchos. Reactions vary widely by the individual. Some folks have a quite low tolerance to capsaicin, while others relish it and consume the hottest peppers they can get their hands on with seemingly little bodily repercussions. The Carolina reaper is the hottest pepper with a Scoville unit score of 1,500,000-2,200,000. What Is The Scoville Scale? The dried chiles are usually sold in whole, dried form, which can be either toasted and ground into powder, or re-hydrated and made into a sauce or paste.Use a combination. For the best substitute, I like to combine one part chile ancho, one part chile pasilla, one part chile morita, and 2-3 dried chiles chipotle. Don’t forget to clean, toast, and rehydrate the chiles. The combination of sweet, smokey, spicy, fruity, and earthy that this makes is the closest I’ve gotten to recreating the flavor of guajillo. If you aren’t able to find those substitutes, ancho chiles work. They are also probably the easiest variety to find outside of Mexico. 🌶 More Mexican chiles Developed in 1912 by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale measures hot peppers’ spiciness through capsaicin dilution and taste testing. To quantify the spiciness of a pepper, you must obtain an extract of capsaicin oil from the dried pepper. This extract is then diluted in a set volume of sugar water at an increasing ratio until professionally trained taste testers can no longer detect the capsaicin. When the taste testers can no longer detect any spiciness, a Scoville heat unit (SHU) is assigned to the pepper, reflecting how much the concentration needed to be diluted. So, if a certain hot pepper has a 20,000 Scoville rating, this means one drop of the pepper’s oil was only undetectable after mixing with 20,000 drops of sugar water. Ranking 10 Types Of Hot peppers