Ancho Chilli Peppers are dry poblano chillies that come from a Capsicum Annuum plant. Originally from Puebla, Mexico, they are very popular across the country and the wider world too. They have an amazing flavour, somewhere between berry sweetness and light earthiness that blends well with many foods, not just Mexican. Ancho Chilli Peppers are great for making sauces and traditional dishes like mole and chilli con carne. As they come in various sizes depending on harvest time, it can be difficult to follow a recipe that calls for “1 Ancho Chilli”. As a rule of thumb, a large pod that’s around hand size, is one pod. Smaller pods that are about half the size will need 2 for the recipe.
Using Ancho Chillies
To rehydrate an Ancho Chilli, first choose how much you want to use – a whole pod, or just cut off what you need. Then, give them a wipe over to remove any dust that may have settled on them during drying and packing with some kitchen paper. Remove the stem and seeds (cutting open along the length of the chilli with scissors is the easiest way). In a hot pan, heat each side for 10 – 20 seconds, holding them down with a spatula if need be. Finally, soak in warm water for 20 – 30 minutes and they’ll be ready to use.
So what does “Grande” mean in the name? There a few grades of these peppers available in markets, and as you’d expect, the quality and flavour goes up with the grades. Normal “Ancho” is grown poorly, processed poorly and is generally a bad tasting product. Mediano is the mid range, with better flavours, but still not as good as we’d want. Grande, or Primero (as these are) are the best you can get. Full of flavour, a hint of heat and a great match for so many foods. Use these and see why they’re the most sold chilli pepper in Mexico! Alternatively, check out the Chipotle Morita Chillies for another flavour explosion!
Chilli Heat
The heat from chillies is a subjective thing we find; what some may find too hot, others might find tame. Therefore, you should go easy on chillies, chilli powders and blends with chilli powders in them to find the heat level you like. If you are tasting as you go, you can always add a little more if you need to, but taking heat out is difficult if not impossible.
Please note that due to the variations in weight, size and density of these chillies, standardising packs is difficult. We’ll always strive to give keep it as even as possible, so if a chilli is a little smaller than others, we’ll add part of another to bring it up to where we think it should be.
Nutritional Information/ 100g
- Energy/kcal – 288
- Energy/kJ – 1204
- Protein (g) – 12
- Fat (g) – 8.4
- of which Saturates (g) – 0.8
- Carbohydrate (g) – 52.2
- of which sugars – No data
- Fibre (g) – 22.2
- Sodium (mg) – 43.8
- Salt (g) – No data
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- Cereals containing gluten
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Nuts
- Mustard
- Celery
- Milk and Dairy products
- Sesame Seeds
- Products containing sulphur dioxide at concentrations more than 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre.
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