Chipotle - Varieties

Varieties

Most chipotle chiles are produced in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. This variety of chipotle is known as a morita (Spanish for small mulberry). In central and southern Mexico, chipotle chiles are known as chile meco, chile ahumado, or típico. Whereas moritas from Chihuahua are purple in color, chile meco is tan/grey in color and has the general appearance of a cigar butt. Most chipotle chiles found in the United States are of the morita variety. Almost all of the chipotle meco is consumed in Mexico.

Chipotles are purchased in forms, including chipotle powder, chipotle pods, chipotles en adobo in a can, concentrated chipotle base and wet chipotle meat marinade.

Other varieties of chiles are smoke-dried, including red jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, New Mexico chiles, Hungarian wax peppers, Santa Fe Grande chiles, and a milder jalapeño called the TAM (a cultivar named for Texas A&M University). Lesser-known varieties of smoked chiles include cobán, a piquín chile native to southern Mexico and Guatemala; pasilla de Oaxaca, a variety of pasilla from Oaxaca used in mole negro; jalapeño chico, jalapeños, smoked while still green; and capones ("castrated ones"), a rare smoked red jalapeño without seeds.