From chilli con carne to fajitas who doesn’t want a bit of Mexican spice in their life? Chillies are an essential ingredient in Mexican cuisine. Whilst you can use any chilli to turn up the heat in your cooking these are the real deal and will give you that authentic Mexican taste.
Looking to add some authentic chilli spice? These are the varieties for you:
Jalapeno – A very popular chilli and with good reason. This chilli will crop well and give you loads of lovey chillies which can be used in all manner of dishes. Commonly picked and eaten while green, if left to ripen further the fruit will turn orange and red.
Chilli de arbol – Often known as the tree chilli, this plant can grow up to 100-140cm in a year. The plant’s fruit can be quite long at 10cm and range from mild to hot in heat. The fruit of this tall Chilli can be used fresh or dried, the dried fruit is used decoratively as the chillies do not lose their colour after being dried.
Mirasol – This is a mild Chilli, it tastes great and is great for roasting. If you like a hot Chilli this is not for you however, if you like the flavour of Chillies and not so much heat this is definitely for you.
Serrano – A hard to find chilli in the UK. Serrano chillies are an essential part of Mexican cooking. Produces a medium crop of medium sized bullet shaped chillies.
Habanero – In 1999 this chilli was declared the hottest in the world but has since been displaced by many hotter varieties. Still a hot Chilli with a strong fruity flavour, works very well in sauces as well as cooking.
