Matt Bray 
Banana peppers and jalapeños are two popular chilies, familiar to most North Americans. They are common sites in most supermarkets and are often used in similar ways. But how do they compare? Is one hotter than the other? Are their flavors similar? How do they …
What are Madame Jeanette peppers? The first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Madame Jeanette” is not likely one of the hotter chili peppers on the planet. But that’s what it is. The Madame Jeanette (a.k.a. Suriname pepper) runs from 125,000 to 325,000 …
What are rooster spur peppers? In the world of chili peppers, sometimes the tiniest chilies pack some of the bigger punches. The rooster spur pepper fits this bill. Its short, slim shape belies a cayenne pepper level spiciness (30,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat units). It’s …
Fajita night and no fajita marinade or seasoning in sight? It’s ok – if you have a well stocked spice rack, you can make a delicious homemade fajita seasoning in no time at all. Cayenne pepper provides the spiciness here, as well as smoked paprika. …
Chili is a Tex-Mex dish. If you are familiar with Tex-Mex cuisine, you know that it usually offers some amount of spiciness. Exactly how much heat can vary depending on the cook’s preference and the chili peppers used. If you want to increase the heat …
Paprika is known among cooks as much for its bright red color as for its fruity, sometimes smoky flavor. It is versatile enough to be a part of almost any dry rub and is a staple of deviled egg recipes. While you can find it …
Habanero powder consists entirely of dried and ground habanero peppers. Habaneros are among the hotter chili peppers, making habanero powder one of the hotter chili powders around as well. Like the habanero pepper, the powder is versatile and flavorful (fruity and sweet) besides being extra …
Sriracha is a Thai hot sauce containing chili peppers, garlic, and a few other basic ingredients like salt and sugar. The version of this sauce that is most common in America was made by a Vietnamese immigrant named David Tran who started a company called …
It is easy to add too much spice to soup, especially if you do not cook regularly or rarely make it. Some spices take time to infuse into all the liquid in a soup. Many impatient cooks make the mistake of adding more instead of …
Both dark and light chili powders are blends of the same ingredients. All chili powders contain dried and ground hot peppers, along with cumin, garlic, and oregano. Those are just the foundation ingredients; some blends will have others. While dark and light chili powder blends …