Ancho Powder: Ground Dried Poblano, Its Heat, Flavor and Uses

Dry a poblano and it becomes an ancho, dark and wrinkled, reddish-brown to almost black. Grind that and you have ancho powder: mild, sweet and smoky, with hints of dried fruit, and gentle enough to measure by the teaspoon instead of the pinch. It’s a key ingredient in Mexican mole, and Saveur notes that the chile in most chili powder blends is usually ancho.¹ Just how hot it is depends on what was measured, as the heat table below shows.

At a glance

Ancho, poblano and the name

A poblano is the fresh green chile. Dry it and it becomes an ancho. The Chile Pepper Institute (CPI) at New Mexico State University puts it simply: anchos are dried poblanos, Capsicum annuum, with dark, wrinkled skin ranging from reddish-brown to almost black.³ The Codex international standard for dried chile lists “Ancho” among the varietal names of chilli pepper it covers.⁴ We didn’t check a source on how ripe poblanos are when they’re picked for drying.

Poblano is Spanish for “of Puebla”: the Real Academia Española defines it as belonging or relating to Puebla or its people. The name ties the chile to the Mexican state of Puebla, but none of our sources show that the poblano type was developed there. The species itself is native from the southern United States to Brazil and the Caribbean, and a 2014 study found that four independent lines of evidence point to its domestication in central-east Mexico.²

Ancho powder made from a single chile isn’t the same as American chili powder, which is a blend. Saveur notes that the chile in most chili powder blends is usually ancho.¹

Flavor

CPI describes ancho as having sweet, smoky flavors with hints of dried fruit. PepperScale describes an earthy sweetness with subtle notes of raisin and coffee. In a sauce, the powder comes across as raisin and prune, with a slight bitterness and gentle warmth. You’ll often read that ancho is the sweetest of all dried chiles. We couldn’t trace that to a source.

How hot is ancho?

How to read this:

• CPI’s 1,000–2,000 is a general figure for the pepper type, not a measurement of any particular lot or powder.
• The Minnesota figures describe fresh fruit of specific cultivars, grown in one place in one year. They were measured with a ChilliPot device that the authors describe as an electrochemical method whose correlation with the standard HPLC method “has not been proven.”⁵ They don’t show CPI’s range is wrong, and they aren’t figures for dried ancho powder.
• The Codex threshold is a category line, the boundary the standard draws between hot paprika and chilli pepper, not a measurement.⁴
• The 1,000–1,500 range is attributed, not measured. It matches Dave DeWitt’s approximate heat scale,⁶ which cites no measurement, and PepperScale gives the same range.⁷ NMSU notes that HPLC is the most accurate way to measure chile heat and that Scoville taste tests are subjective.⁸

Ancho is mild enough to measure by the teaspoon or tablespoon instead of the pinch, but taste as you go.

How it is used

Mole. CPI calls ancho a key ingredient in Mexican mole sauce. El Universal lists ancho alongside mulato, pasilla and chipotle among the chiles in mole poblano. For mole, whole pods are toasted, soaked and blended; the powder is a shortcut. See mole powder.

Sauces, stews and marinades. CPI notes that ancho is commonly used ground for seasoning or rehydrated in sauces, stews and marinades, and that it goes well with chocolate, tomatoes and meats. Some everyday uses for the powder (these come from how cooks use it, not from the sources above, except where cited):

• Red enchilada sauce and chili; see best spices for chili. PepperScale calls ancho a staple in mole and enchilada sauces.
• Dry rubs for pork, beef and chicken, often with cumin and a little sugar.
• Beans, braises and soups, where it adds color and body.
• Sweet uses with chocolate, as in CPI’s ancho-orange hot fudge recipe.

Pairings. Ancho works well with cumin, cinnamon, Mexican oregano, garlic, cocoa and cilantro. PepperScale adds lime, whose acidity it says cuts through ancho’s smoky sweetness.⁷

Technique. Like other ground chiles, ancho powder burns easily. Warm it briefly in oil over moderate heat before you add liquid.

Buying and quality

• Color and smell. Good ancho powder is deep brick-red to mahogany and smells fruity. Gray-brown, dusty powder has faded.
• Check the label. Pure ancho powder lists only ancho chile. A jar that also lists cumin, oregano or salt is a blend.
• Whole pods. CPI describes anchos as dark and wrinkled, reddish-brown to almost black. Pods that are still pliable, not brittle, are generally fresher, and you can toast and grind them at home.

Storage

Keep the powder airtight, dark and cool. We didn’t find a shelf-life figure for ancho powder from a regulator or standards body, and the figures floating around online couldn’t be traced. Once the color has dulled and the fruity smell is gone, replace it.

Nutrition and health

USDA FoodData Central has an entry for whole dried ancho peppers, with one pepper weighing 17 g. It has no entry for the powder and gives no tablespoon weight.⁹ Per pepper, that works out to:

A whole pepper is a lot of ancho for one serving; a teaspoon of powder in a dish for four gives you far less. Figures that circulate for a tablespoon of ancho powder (such as 69% of daily vitamin A) couldn’t be traced, and USDA gives no tablespoon weight to check them against.

Capsaicin. The strongest human evidence is about a prescription skin patch, not chile in food. A 2017 Cochrane systematic review found moderate-quality evidence that a high-concentration (8%) capsaicin patch gave moderate pain relief to a minority of people with postherpetic neuralgia, with very low-quality evidence for other nerve pain.¹¹ Claims that eating ancho relieves arthritis or psoriasis pain through endorphins, curbs appetite or prevents prostate cancer weren’t supported by any source we reviewed. We’re not claiming ancho treats or prevents any disease.

Safety

• Mycotoxins (EU). EU law caps ochratoxin A at 20 µg/kg in dried Capsicum fruits, whole or ground, and sets 5.0 µg/kg for aflatoxin B1 and 10.0 µg/kg for total aflatoxins.¹²
• Handling. Even mild chile powders sting your eyes. Wash your hands after handling.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Ancho powder substitutes
• Other Mexican chile powders: pasilla powder (and pasilla substitutes), guajillo powder, chipotle powder
• Related: chili powder, paprika, smoked paprika