Chiles (or chillies or chillis or chilis) are widely used in cooking, especially in curries and other hot and spicy foods.
Technically, chile peppers are in the Capsicum genus of the nightshade family of plants.
Chile peppers were originally from Central and South America and today are used worldwide, primarily for cooking.
The main country for growing chiles is India, which produces around 100 million tons every year.
The “heat” in chile peppers is contained in the component called capsaicin. Capsaicin is an active part of the chile pepper and it irritates mammals, including people. It is widely accepted that capsaicin developed as a defence mechanism for the chile peppers.
The capsaicin is found in the membrane of a chile pepper, where the seeds are found. The seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin. If you want to reduce the “heat” from a chile pepper, slice the pepper open, cut away the membrane, and seeds, and then discard them. This reduces the “heat” from a chile pepper to about 50% of what it would be if the whole chile were eaten.
You should take care when handling chile peppers. Most cookery books recommend that you wear kitchen gloves. You should certainly be wary of handling chile peppers if you have any cuts or abrasions on your hands because the capsaicin can really make them sting, sometimes very painfully. You should never, ever rub your eyes after handling chile peppers because the pain can be excruciating.
The “heat” of chile peppers is often measured on the Scoville scale. Read here for a Curry Focus article on the Scoville Scale. The Scoville Rating is not an exact science so the ratings for a particular chile pepper can vary wildly from publication to publication. However, the relative “heat” of the chile peppers can be understood.
There are lots of different types of chile and the main ones are as follows. The Scoville Rating is shown with the letters SR (the bigger the number, the hotter the chile pepper).
Bell (SR 0). This is a squarish pepper that has no heat with sides averaging about 4 inches (10cm). Comes in lots of colours with the main ones being green, red and yellow.
Paprika (SR 0 – 500). There are really two types of paprika chile pepper. The sweet kind is used in the United States and has a 0 Scoville Rating. The hot kind is synonymous with Hungary and has a Scoville Rating of 100 – 500).
Anaheim (SR 500 – 2,500). This is a red narrow chile that can be up to 6 inches (15cm) long. Also known as the Colorado.
Poblano (SR 1,000 – 5,000). This is a large, flat, green chile pepper that can be up to 5 inches (12.5cm) long. It is very popular in Mexico. The Poblano is called an Ancho when it has been dried.
Jalapeno (SR 2,500 – 16000). This is a thin green chile peppers that can be about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. This chile pepper is widely used in the United States.
Cayenne (SR 5,000 – 60,000). This a long, thin, chile pepper that can be up to 5 inches (12.5 cm) long. This chile pepper s usually green, but can be yellow or purple, and is often bought in powder form.
Serrano (SR 5,000 – 60,000). This is a small chile (around 2 inches, or 5cm) that turns red (from green) when ripe. This chile pepper is widely used in Mexico.
Tabasco (SR 30,000 – 50,000). This is a small, thin, chile pepper of about 1.5 inches (4cm). It is a main component of Tabasco sauce.
Aji (SR 30,000 – 50,000). This is a roundish chile pepper of about 3 inches (7.5cm). It is popular and widely used in Peru.
Habanero (SR 100,000 – 300,000). This is a small, lantern-shaped, chile of around 2 inches (5cm). It may be small but it packs a big punch – check out its SR rating.
Scotch Bonnet (SR 150,000 – 325,000). This is also a small, roundish, chile of about 2 inches (5cm). Like the Habanero, it packs a big punch. The Scotch Bonnet is a favourite in Caribbean cooking.
Chile peppers are one of the most well known cooking additives.
There are numerous books written about chile peppers if you want to read up more.
And the New Mexico State University even has a Chile Pepper Institute. You can find their website here.
