How HOT Is It?

Do not be deceived! Not all Mexican food is spicy!

However, chilli peppers are an indispensable ingredient to Mexican cooking. Since Pre-Hispanic times, they have been cultivated and consumed by the indigenous people of Mexico, South and Central America.

The chilli pepper is celebrated for coming in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, and for varying in taste, ranging from sweet and mild, to hot. But, its ultimate flavor can be influenced by the way it is picked, dry roasted, and ground up or frozen.

In modern times, the chilli pepper has been verified to have nutritive and medical value. Not to mention that today we have the choice between pico de gallo, a moderate salsa, a very spicy salsa, sweet salsas, lemony salsas, and many other types of salsas imaginatively thrown together and often including anything from corn, avocados, beans, cucumbers, and many other ingredients. 

Do you still not trust me? Learn for yourself. Here is a guide to help inform you of the different types of chili peppers: 

*CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE

My mom's cooking is mainly moderate in heat. She mainly makes use of the Habanero, Poblano, Ancho, Arbol, and Anaheim chilli peppers. Personally, I don't like spicy food (neither do my five brothers, excluding my older sister who loves spicy food), but I also don't like sweet Mexican food. (I only like sweet food if it is Asian food.) I like Mexican food that is spiced, but one that won't cause me to blow my nose after every bite I take. My sister, on the other hand, does not mind a runny nose or a burned tongue from eating food too spicy.