"Typical Mexican adobos are stewlike presentations of meat in savory red chile sauce. Don't confuse the noun adobo, referring to the whole dish, with the adjective adobado, which is used for something marinated in a punchier version of this sauce," says chef Rick Bayless. Some don't make the distinction. "Adobo sauce" [..]

Cold drinks made with fresh fruit mixed with water. More water-based than juice, but always starts with fresh ingredients, not powder.

The dried form of the poblano chile, it has a deep brown color and is the sweetest of the dried chiles.

A meat filling used for tacos. It's always pork, always seasoned with red chile (usually chipotle) and spices. It's often served with pineapple.

A small, gourdlike fruit that looks like a pear and is similar in taste and texture to squash. Also used in Louisiana cooking, where it is called mirliton. Can be prepared in any way suitable for summer squash, or stuffed like bell peppers. Sometimes called a vegetable pear.

Crisp snack made from pork skin fried twice. Chile: Also called chili pepper or hot pepper. There are more than 200 varieties of chiles, more than 100 of which are indigenous to Mexico. As a general rule, the larger a chile is, the milder it is. The substance that gives a chile its heat is called capsaicin, which is mostly stored in the chile' [..]

Crisp snack made from pork skin fried twice. Chile: Also called chili pepper or hot pepper. There are more than 200 varieties of chiles, more than 100 of which are indigenous to Mexico. As a general rule, the larger a chile is, the milder it is. The substance that gives a chile its heat is called capsaicin, which is mostly stored in the chile' [..]

The dried, smoked form of the jalapeno chile. It has a wrinkled, dark brown skin and a smoky, sweet, almost chocolatey flavor.

A dried chile with shiny, smooth red skin that is very tough, so it must be soaked longer than other chiles. Can be quite hot. "What anchos are to 'deep' and 'rich,' guajillos are to 'spicy' and 'dynamic,'" says Bayless.

A very hot chile that is small and lantern-shaped.