Chile Willy

[sina]

Chile fans help me... peppers, peppers, not the country. Please!

I'm making a recipe that calls for:

1. Arbol chile powder
2. Dried New Mexico (sometimes Mexican) chile powder
3. Dried California chile powder

I want to buy th whole dried chile of each type and grind my own powder.

Now, number 1, I can find in my local Latin foods market as "arbol chiles". But number 2 and 3 don't seem to go by those names exactly. It's likely that those dried chiles are certainly available, but labeled under the Spanish word instead. But what are they?

I thought the ol' internet would clear it up for me, but sadly has only made things more confusing. Chiles 2 and 3 appear to be the same thing depending on what website you read. Californias are sometimes called Anaheims, the dried version is often called New Mexican chiles. But dried New Mexico chiles are often called chiles de ristra. Google image searches make things even more unclear. They're the same thing to some people, and two different things to others.

It's important to me that I "get it right". I want to use three different chiles. Can someone make any sense of this please? Thanks!

[Elaina]

Hola Sina:

Chile de arbol

Chile California Seco - Dried California Pepper/Chile Pods

Chile Nuevo Mexico Seco - Dried New Mexico Chile Pods

Sometimes, in recipes Chile California and Nuevo Mexico are interchangeable.

I don't know what part of the country you live in but it will be kinda hard to find both......unless, of course you are living in California, New Mexico, Texas, etc. You know.....the Southwest. Oh and maybe Chicago and New York!

Good Luck!

Elaina

[sina]

Thanks for the input. So do you think #2 & #3 are exactly the same or only similar?

[Elaina]

Hey Sina.....

I've used both and can say they are very similar but if you are a CHILE connoisseur then I think you would notice the difference...

buena suerte!

Elaina