Spotlight Spice: Guajillo Chile

Second only to the Ancho Chile, the Guajillo Chile is one of the most commonly grown chiles in northern and central Mexico. Its name translates to “little gourd” in English, which is a nod to the rattle the seeds make inside the dried pepper.

Guajillo chiles are fairly low in heat (registering only 2,500 – 5,000 SHUs) but are high in flavor. Their flavor is smoky and sharp – a bit like a cranberry – making the pepper a great option for flavoring homemade salsas, sauces, chili, rubs, and more.  The chile is one of the three chiles that make up the “holy trinity” of chiles used in Mexican mole and is commonly used to make harissa – a hot chile paste common in Tunisian cooking.

Because of it’s mild heat and bright flavor, we recommend keeping a jar of this chile on hand in your pantry to try in a variety of recipes. Find it, along with our other dried chiles, in the shop or or Chiles Section of allspiceonline.com.