Bakermon's Profile
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
Hey you guys. Enough enough. I learned after posting this that the confusion is waay deep, going as far as Chinese chilies that show up on the market with either label. In late 2010, my wife and I went to Puebla Mexico to do cooking classes with the chef at Mesones Sacristia, and we learned that even there, there is confusion about the labeling of chiles. In the markets you can find a chile dried one way that is labeled differently than the same chile dried another way.
I've also had an ongoing discussion with the people at Pacific Food Importers here in Seattle that say their suppliers often mislabel chiles.
As Paulj basically says, try the chiles you see, and make your own judgement call. Every batch is different!
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
Okay, so it seems Wikipedia (and for that matter, many of the suppliers who package these two chiles as one and the same) is wrong. The Ancho, which comes from fresh Poblanos, is one chile. The true Pasilla, which comes from fresh Chilacas, is another. The Oaxacan may be a derivative of the true Pasilla, but is treated differently in drying anyway, so we can leave that to one side.
Armed with the above information, I found this link on the Produce Hunter:
http://www.theproducehunter.com/productdisplay.asp?ID=2126 (sorry, doesn't seem to want to paste as a hyperlink) that says
"Chilaca Chile (True Pasilla)
Fresh chile names can be very confusing in Southern California. Our goal is to sort this out. The name PASILLA means "little raisin," a reference to the raisiny appearance and aroma of the this very distinctive chile that the West Coast calls CHILACA. This misnomer was started in northwestern Mexico and Californians perpetuate it. To further complicate the issue, a Oaxacan chile with the same color but an entirely different appearance and flavor is called pasilla. That Oaxacan pasilla is very likely the progenitor of the long green/red New Mexican Chile which is said to have had the pasilla as an ancestor. In the Oaxaca area, the true pasilla is known as pasilla de Mexico, while the local cultivar is the pasilla de Oaxaca or just pasilla. Confused? Welcome to our nightmare. The Chilaca that we show here is a mild chile, four to seven inches long, 3/4 to 1 inch in width and dark blackish green ripening to dark brown. The fresh chilaca is used primarily in the central and northwestern regions in Mexico in sauces and as a vegetable after charring and peeling. When dried, they are called Negro chiles and have a rich, mellow flavor desirable in cooked sauces, or toasted and crumbled, or ground into a table sauce."
There is a photo on the site.
Thanks for all you input, and I'll be checking out the Plaza Latina as well!
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
Great links. Thanks so much! Off the topic, where do you get the Peruvian aji panca?
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
They've got a sweetness you don't normally get with fresh pepper rellenos, kind of along the lines of the sweetness you get with sun-dried tomatoes, and a chewyness that lingers. If you're ever in Seattle, try them at The Chile Pepper on 45th Street in Wallingford. Funny enough, I went there the other night hoping the owner could answer my question, but he's on holiday in Mexico and the restaurant was closed.
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
You're right, the other discussion you mention didn't resolve it, though it brought up that they're sometimes packaged as the same chile to further confuse (or maybe clarify?) things. Maybe these are just regionally different chiles -- the same chile grown in different climates or microclimates. The way that, say, a type of grape would yield different wine in California or France or Washington state?
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
BTW: Above is in response to the "why" question from Paulj. Thanks, others, for your input. Any chance, DallasDude, you could share you tamale non-recipe?
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
Partly curiosity and partly to see whether it's worth making room for both on my shelves. If the only real difference is shape, then I'd go with the anchos, because they're easier to reconstitute,seed and stuff for the chiles relleno as served deliciously by Rodolpho's Chile Pepper restaurant in Seattle.
Meanwhile, I've learned that the Oaxacan Pasillas that I was also curious about is a smoked version, which is totally different.
What's the real difference between ancho and pasillo chile peppers?
According to Wikipedia, the only real difference is shape. But according to Pacific Food Importers and World Spice, there are varietal differences. Wiki says anchos are part of the pasillo family, which breaks out Oachaca (sp?) as well. C'mon, you chili (and chile) afficianados. What do you think?
