Rescue a dinner party by choosing an appropriate ancho chili pepper substitute.
Authentic Mexican food commonly uses ancho chili powder for distinctive flavor. A substitute could make or break your dinner. Jean Andrews, deemed The Pepper Lady because of her years of investigation and international expertise on peppers, suggests acceptable substitutes.
Heat
The poblano is considered quite mild in the world of peppers.
The ancho chili is the dried form of the poblano pepper. It falls into the mild to warm heat category ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville Heat Units. Pure capsaicin, the heat causing chemical in a chili pepper, measures 16,000 SHU, and a red bell pepper measures zero SHU.
Flavor
The poblano is sometimes referred to as Mexico's bell pepper.
The poblano pepper and its derivatives taste sweet, like a bell pepper, but with a spicy bite. Originally from Mexico, related varieties of this pepper have been developed in the United States.
Substitutes
Anaheim or New Mexico chili powders serve as substitutes to Ancho.
In her pepper guide, "The Pepper Lady's Pocket Pepper Primer," Andrews suggests the Anaheim or New Mexico peppers as substitutes to the poblano.
Tags: bell pepper, Anaheim Mexico, ancho chili, chili pepper, Pepper Lady