There are literally thousands of varieties of peppers and chiles, ranging from fingernail size to more than six inches long, from sunset orange to fiery red to bright green, varying in flavor and degree of heat from fruity and mild (bell peppers) to mildly hot (poblanos) to I-dare-you blazing hot (habaneros). All are from the genus Capsicum. Chiles are available fresh, dried (whole and ground), pickled, and canned.
Buying and storing Avoid peppers and chiles with soft spots or wrinkling. Store fresh peppers and chiles, unwrapped, in your refrigerator’s vegetable bin for up to a week or so. When buying dried chiles, look for ones that are still pliable, not dusty or moldy. Store them in an airtight container in a dark, cool place, where they should keep pretty much forever.
Preparing Unless you’re cooking them whole, bell peppers should be cored and seeded before cooking. If you plan to cut the peppers into strips or dice them, start by cutting the pepper in half; remove the cap and seed mass, along with the wooly ribs, with your fingers. Alternatively, you can cut a circle around the stem and pull it out, along with most of the seeds; rinse out the remaining seeds. Peppers can be peeled, if you like, with a vegetable peeler.
Fresh chiles should be stemmed. Seeding is optional; be aware that the lion’s share of a chile’s heat (which is caused by a compound called capsaicin) resides in the seeds and ribs. If you want more heat, leave them in; if you want a mellower chile flavor, cut the chile in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and ribs with a knife, then cut up as directed. When working with chiles, it is a good idea to wear gloves; unless you wash your hands well with soap and water, capsaicin really stays on your skin for awhile. If you’re sensitive, it will burn your skin — but the greater danger is that you’ll rub your eye, in which case you’re in for a lot of pain.
When working with dried chiles, break them open and shake out the seeds; again, if you want more heat, leave them in. Toast in a dry skillet over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side to develop a bit of smoky flavor. Add them whole or in pieces while cooking, or grind to make your own chile powder. Or you can reconstitute them whole: After toasting, cover them with boiling water and let sit until the chiles are soft, 5 to 30 minutes. Discard skins, seeds, and ribs, if you like. (You can save the soaking water and use that as a flavor agent, too, but it’ll likely be quite hot.) See pages 664 to 666 to make your own chile paste.
Best cooking methods For bell peppers and large mild chiles: roasting, grilling, broiling, sautéing; for smaller, hotter chiles: roasting, adding as seasoning to most any kind of dish
When is it done? When roasting or grilling, blackened and collapsed. In other cooking, when very tender and soft