Peppers for faster or more forward heat vs slow heat?

Posting this question after making a batch of chili this weekend. The peppers in it were powdered de arbol, ancho, aleppo [not aji as first posted, my mistake], paprika, california, cumin-based curry powder, chili powder, and cayenne for some extra heat. The heat was a slower build which hits a second or two after you taste it. I recall other chilis which have a faster or more forward heat to them, so you get the heat right when it hits your tongue, although I am curious about what and why the heat hits faster in some foods than in others.

What peppers have a faster heat profile? Is it the pepper prep (powder vs fresh, toasting, etc)? Is it other things in the recipe that help the heat hit sooner?

Welcome Chris,

I'm not a chili expert but I think 2 things can affect the speed in which you detect the heat. 1) The type of chili. I find chili pequins yield a heat up front.
2) The other factor is what the chili is cooked with. Certain foods such as starches, sugars and dairy products temper the heat.

That's what comes to mind for me. If you want more heat up front, you might also try increasing the amount of chili pepper in a recipe.

Paul

Chris, personally I prefer the heat to sneak up on you. I've found when judging BBQ that when you get hit with the heat up front usually that's all I could taste after that especially when it's REALLY hot

Thanks, guys. I'll give pequins a try. And I agree with you Paul H, flavor is a higher priority than the heat. I started with the de arbol rather than cayenne for the better flavor, and ultimately added a bit of cayenne to bump up the heat.

I'm a chili lover, not a chili expert. Whether the heat is up front seems dependent on all the things that Paul K mentioned, but I think the most important are the type of chili (jalapenos and habaneros tend to be up front) and whether they are dried or fresh. Milder chilis tend to be more "after" -- probably because the heat needs to build. Jalapenos and habaneros are not "mild" and tend to hit RIGHT NOW. I agree that increasing the amount may bring the heat up front -- but it's also like to increase the after effect.

Rich

I pretty much agree with everything Rich wrote. The one issue is with the relative heat of jalapenos and to some degree habaneros. My experience with these peppers is that the commercially grown versions are now quite a bit milder than homegrown versions. I suspect that the large box stores wish to tame the heat so that it is more tolerable to more people. I've certainly had my share of jalapenos bought from the store that would normally be considered mild. Ofcourse everything is relative and my mild is someone else's scorching hot. A co-worker of mine can down piquins like peanuts whereas with me I find them quite hot.

Paul

You know, I was surprised to see how low jalapenos were rated on the scoville scale on wikipedia, and I'd heard that they have been bred down in heat.

Are there brands or types that tend to be hotter, like the canned or jarred jalapenos in the Mexican food aisle at most supermarkets?

IMO, controlling when the heat "hits ya" is affected by several factors:

I like some heat - what most would consider mild to medium. Stuff that set my mouth on-fire just holds no thrill for me, but:

PREPARATION:
With a lot of peppers, the amount of smack can be controlled by the preparation:

Jalepenos, for example, can be almost mild if they are nice and fresh, and if the seeds are removed and the white membranes from the inside are cut-away. Leave some or all in for more bite!

Pickling some peppers seems to bring-out the heat in the juice.

Big chunks of mid-hot peppers will seem hotter than a few small, finely-diced bits - unless you use TONS of bits, then you're really asking for it! ;-P

Extracts and oils can be very powerful, because of the way the spread-out and cling to the membranes inside your mouth / tongue.

WHERE YOU PUT PEPPERS IN THE DISH:
I think of this as a way of determining
-What hits your tongue first
-How much of it hits your tongue

Keeping the hot-stuff on the outside - in a coating / breading / sauce / or infused into the oil used for final cooking will bring it to the front.

Blending it into the body of the material, dicing it up really fine and diluting it will push it to the rear.

KIND OF PEPPER:
I think that this part has already been beaten-to-death.

Any combination of the ideas above can be used to achieve the desired effect.