Sport peppers are mild chili peppers that are especially popular in the Southern United States and Chicago. They're a key element of the popular Chicago-style hot dog. The peppers have a Scoville Heat Unit ranging from 10,000 to 23,000 and they're typically pickled in vinegar.
After they've been pickled, these green peppers turn pale green. The flavor is slightly spicy, tangy, and vinegary. Although they are believed to originate in Mexico, the name sport can refer to a variety of pickled peppers from the same family, but their most known usage is in Chicago and the American South.
Cascabel chiles are dark red chiles that retain their round shape when dried. They are also known as rattlesnake chiles, referring to the fact that the loose seeds make a rattling sound when the chiles are shaken. These chiles are quite small and have a nutty and earthy flavor.
Their heat level is low, ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 on the Scoville scale. Cascabels are often used in the preparation of tomato sauces and birria, a traditional Mexican meat stew. Fresh version of cascabel is called bola chile or chile bola and it has little to no heat
Serrano (meaning of the mountain) is a chili pepper native to Tlaola, located in the Mexican state of Puebla. It is cultivated by a group of women from the Nahua community who grow it on terraces, while a greenhouse is used to grow the seedlings.
In an area where most land is owned by men, and women traditionally aren’t involved in commercial processes, these women are essentially restoring an ancient, disappearing native staple. Serrano is small, oblong and pointed in shape, and green in color.
Pasilla chile (lit. little raisin) is a traditional hot pepper and the dried form of the chilaca pepper. It's also sometimes called pasilla bajio and has a heat range from 250 to 3,999 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Although most of the dried peppers are not very hot, some provide respectable heat to the dishes they're used in.
Pasillas are often used in mole sauce and various salsas. The flavor is earthy, smoky, and rich. The peppers are usually sold in their dried form, but they can also be ground into a powder. It's recommended to use pasillas with fruits, seafood, mushrooms, honey, lamb, duck, and garlic.
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