Food & Cuisine
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This African-bred superhot pepper, popular with hot sauce makers, rates 125,000-325,000 Scoville units.
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Also from Wales, the Sugar Rush _ _ _ _ _ _ _ variety has striped, multicolored pods as it ripens.
Mexico's most exported fresh pepper, it ranges 2,500-8,000 Scoville units and is often pickled or stuffed.
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This Indian pepper's name means 'flame' and it packs 20,000-30,000 Scoville units into a wrinkled green pod.
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This tiny, fiery chili from southwest China has a Mandarin name meaning 'small millet pepper.'
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This Mexican-origin pepper lends its name to a famous vinegar-based hot sauce made in Louisiana.
TABASCOThis Caribbean and Yucatan staple, with a fruity, floral flavor, rates 100,000-350,000 Scoville units.
HABANEROPopular in Brazil, this hot pepper borrowed its name from an unrelated West African spice and rates 60,000-100,000 SHU.
MALAGUETABred in the UK and once record-setting, this pepper's name suggests limitless heat: the '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Chili.'
INFINITYNative to Southeast Asia, this tiny, fiery pepper packs 50,000-100,000 Scoville units into a pointed pod.
BIRDSEYENamed for its unusual pointed pod shape, Brazil's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper rates around 10,000-30,000 Scoville units.
STARFISHNamed for its dark, dramatic pods, this _ _ _ _ _ Hungarian pepper rates 5,000-10,000 Scoville units.
BLACKMexico's most common stuffing pepper for chiles rellenos, it dries into the ancho chile at 1,000-2,000 SHU.
POBLANOPeru's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper ripens to a dark yellow color and stays roughly apple-sized.
CANARIOThis round, dried Mexican pepper, whose name means 'little rattle,' has seeds that shake loose inside it.
CASCABELThis tiny wild Mexican pepper, one of the hottest annuums at 50,000-100,000 SHU, is also called the bird pepper.
CHILTEPINBred in South Carolina, the Carolina _ _ _ _ _ _ once held the Guinness record for world's hottest pepper.
REAPERUsually picked green and blistered with olive oil and salt, this small Spanish pepper is a beloved tapas dish.
PADRONThis thin-skinned Japanese pepper is usually blistered and served as a savory snack; most pods are mild.
SHISHITOPeru's tiny, pea-sized aji _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper is prized by chefs for its fruity flavor despite real heat.
CHARAPITABred in Wales, the Sugar Rush _ _ _ _ _ pepper ripens to a soft orange hue at 10,000-20,000 Scoville units.
PEACHNamed for the Spanish word for a date fruit, this hot pepper is grown around St. Augustine, Florida.
DATILThis bright red US pepper has thinner walls than a jalapeno and often stands in for it fresh.
FRESNOThis Syrian-Turkish pepper, dried and crushed into a tangy, fruity spice, has a moderate heat of about 10,000 Scoville units.
ALEPPOThis dried, dark Mexican pepper is the base for classic mole sauces and rates 1,000-2,000 Scoville units.
PASILLAThis mild, thin-skinned frying pepper, popular in Italian and Cuban-style cooking, stays under 1,000 Scoville units.
CUBANELLENative to Northeast India, this pepper is more formally called the bhut jolokia, or _ _ _ _ _ pepper.
GHOSTFound in South Africa in 1993, the sweet _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper is sold pickled under the Peppadew brand.
PIQUANTESouthern Africa's peri-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper, also called piri-piri, flavors a famous grilled chicken dish.
PERIPERIThis slender, hot dried Mexican pepper is a common addition to Mexican and Southwestern hot sauces.
PUYAMalawi's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper is a small, fiery bird's-eye type used widely in local cooking.
KAMBUZIChina's Hainan Yellow _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper rates around 300,000 Scoville units and is prized in local cuisine.
LANTERNNamed for an Andhra Pradesh city, this Indian chili is traded at what's called Asia's largest dried red chili market.
GUNTURBangladesh's naga _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper reaches roughly 1,000,000 Scoville units, rivaling the ghost pepper.
MORICHThis slender, wrinkled dried Mexican pepper, whose name means 'of the tree,' brings smoky heat to salsas.
DEARBOLDried and ground, this French Guiana-origin pepper gives its name to a fiery red powder at 30,000-50,000 SHU.
CAYENNEThis small, fiery Thai pepper's name translates roughly to 'mouse-dropping chili.'
PRIKKEENUThis habanero-like South American pepper, often confused with Madame Jeanette, can reach 500,000 Scoville units.
ADJUMANamed for New Mexico's capital, the Santa Fe _ _ _ _ _ _ is a yellow-ripening pepper whose Spanish name means 'large.'
GRANDEThis thick-walled Andean pepper, also called the manzano or locoto, has unusual black seeds.
ROCOTOJamaica's favorite fiery pepper, shaped like a tam-o'-shanter hat, is called the Scotch _ _ _ _ _ _.
BONNETShaped like a tricorn hat, this South American pepper is called the bishop's _ _ _ _ _.
CROWNThis South American pepper's name literally means 'lemon chili,' reflecting its bright citrus aroma.
AJILIMONThis Hungarian _ _ _ pepper, pale yellow and banana-shaped, ranges 2,500-8,000 Scoville units.
WAXA staple of Mexican salsa verde, this bright green pepper rates hotter than a jalapeno at 10,000-23,000 SHU.
SERRANOGrown under AOC status in the French Basque Country, this piment d'_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper flavors the town of the same name.
ESPELETTETrinidad's Moruga _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper once ranked among the hottest peppers ever measured, near 2,000,000 SHU.
SCORPIONThe Philippines' _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper is a small, cone-shaped chili central to Filipino spicy dishes.
LABUYOThis Tunisian pepper is pressed into a fiery, fragrant cooking oil and rates roughly 1,000-5,000 Scoville units.
BAKLOUTIGrown near a famous New Mexico valley, this pepper flavors the region's traditional red chile sauce.
CHIMAYOThis sun-dried Mexican pepper's name means 'looking at the sun' and rates 2,000-5,000 Scoville units.
MIRASOLDespite sharing a fiery-sounding family, this Caribbean 'sweet chili' pepper carries almost no heat at all.
AJIDULCEChina's 'facing _ _ _ _ _ _' pepper points its pods skyward on the plant and rates 30,000-50,000 Scoville units.
HEAVENOften found growing wild in Mexico and Texas, this tiny, very hot pepper is called chile _ _ _ _ _ _.
PIQUINDeveloped in California by Frank Garcia, this habanero cultivar once held the Guinness record near 577,000 SHU.
REDSAVINABred in England, this venomously-named pepper once measured over 1,380,000 Scoville units.
NAGAVIPERTrinidad Scorpion '_ _ _ _ _ T,' a fearsome superhot cultivar, once topped 1,400,000 Scoville units.
BUTCHAs of 2023, this US-bred pepper claims the Guinness record at nearly 2,700,000 Scoville units.
PEPPERXThe Philippines' siling _ _ _ _ _ _ is a long, mild green finger pepper; the Tagalog word means 'long.'
MAHABAThis mild green US pepper, often stuffed and roasted for chiles rellenos, runs 500-2,500 Scoville units.
ANAHEIMNamed after a woman from Suriname, the Madame _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pepper rates 100,000-350,000 Scoville units.
JEANETTE