A chipotle is a smoked jalapeño and is a critical ingredient in our Blazing Blends© rubs. It has a deep smoky flavor. Even if you only quickly sear your food over high heat, it will taste like it was smoked overnight. If you slow cook however, the smoky flavor, (along with a nice Blazing Blends© spice kick) will soak through the meat... all from just one little pepper!

The ancho chile has sometimes been described as a spicy raisin. Jim explains its taste like this: "Think of a good commercial BBQ sauce that is a little sweet. If you ground up anchos into a paste, it would be similar; a little chile-ish, a little sweet, a little smoky. I guess like a spicy raisin, but I still prefer putting anchos on my brisket over raisins."

The New Mexico chile is a basic chile. Not excessively spicy, nor excessively sweet, nor overly smoky. It is, in essence, a "mild chile"--it doesn't stand out, but without it, a layer of chile flavor would be distinctly lacking.

A dried green jalapeno tastes nothing like a chipotle (a smoked jalapeño) and nothing like a fresh jalapeño. One tiny piece of the dried jalapeño will evoke the clean garden flavor of an entire fresh jalapeno, giving a "garden fresh" taste to the entire blend.

Cayenne tastes like heat, plain and simple. There is a tiny sense of peppery flavor, but mostly the experience is a fiery sensation that sticks to your tongue.

Not only will this heat stick to your tongue, it will attack your gums, your teeth, your lips, it will attack any body part it touches. So WATCH OUT. People familiar with this pepper know what it can do. For people not familiar with it, this is the HOTTEST pepper on this planet - end of story.

Black pepper adds a flavor that your tongue instantly recognizes (it's the pepper on your table). White pepper tastes very similar to black pepper, although much more subtle. White pepper powder is obtained by removing the skin of the black pepper corns and then grinding it, so essentially it is a taste that lingers but does not overwhelm your mouth. Good Asian and Mexican cooking use white pepper in many dishes. It's that one flavor that you don't know is there but will definitely miss if it's gone.

Of these two common flavors, Jim says, simply, "What good rib or brisket would be complete without onion and garlic?"

Jim tells this story: "The mother of a friend of mine is from Cuba and she gave me a recipe for "Cuban Chili" that included a lot of oregano. I thought she was crazy for putting it in-- until I tasted it! When oregano is used alongside chiles and peppers, it has a level of flavor that goes way beyond the stereotypical pizza sauce taste..."

This spice is often invoked in many a Mexican or tex-mex dish, as well as certain middle-eastern meals... it has a smoky, non-spicy, deep flavor that is rich and appealing. In small amounts it adds depth. In large amounts it creates that authentic tex-mex flavor found in many good spice blends.

Vegetarians will be most familiar with this lovely fungus... shitake mushrooms have a meaty flavor and texture, and can be grilled and used as substitutions for steaks or hamburgers. If you grind a dry shiitake, you immediately conjure a taste similar to the best beefy filet mignon.