Peppers · Dried Bola
Cascabel
Nutty and woodsy, according to America's Test Kitchen.
1,500 to 2,500 SHU, per Fiery Foods (DeWitt). Log scale against the hottest chile in this guide.
Cascabel means jingle bell or rattle, for the seeds that rattle inside the round, dried pod. It is about an inch and a half across and dark red. The heat is moderate and the taste is toasty.
Fiery Foods' glossary says cascabels are grown in Jalisco and Guerrero. Fresh, the pod is called bola, bolita, or boludo, all words for a ball or a bump. Dried, it is also sold as cora or guajón.
On Dave DeWitt's heat scale it sits in the same band as the Sandia chile, warmer than ancho or pasilla but well below de árbol.
Cascabels are usually toasted and soaked like other dried chiles, then blended into sauces and salsas. DeWitt notes they can be hard to find.