Food - Drink
What’s The Difference Between Jalapeños And Chipotle Peppers?
By MICHELLE WELSCH
If you’re a fan of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, you’re probably familiar with the heat that chipotle and jalapeño peppers can bring to various dishes. Many assume that chipotles are their own breed of pepper, but they're actually jalapeños that have been transformed into a vastly different product that merits a different name.
The crisp, mild spice of fresh, green jalapeños peppers makes them work well in main dishes, stuffed as an appetizer, sliced on top of salads, and mixed into flavorful salsas. If left on the stem, a green jalapeño pepper will turn into a red hue as it ripens, and those red peppers are turned into the jalapeño’s drier form, the chipotle.
With an earthier quality, chipotles are red jalapeños that have been smoked and dried. Due to their stronger flavor and their need to be rehydrated for some recipes, they can be harder to work with compared to fresh jalapeños, but the bold flavor of chipotles can be uniquely spectacular in barbecues sauces, chili, mole, and more.