Chili pepper

Capsicum plants originated in modern-day Bolivia and have been a part of human diets since about 7,500 BC.[6][10] They are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas.[10] Origins of cultivating chili peppers are traced to east-central Mexico some 6,000 years ago,[8][11] although according to research by the New York Botanical Garden press in 2014, chili plants were first cultivated independently across different locations in the Americas including highland Bolivia, central Mexico, and the Amazon.[7] They were one of the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in Mexico, Central America,[12] and parts of South America.[10]

Peru has the highest variety of cultivated Capsicum diversity because it is a center of diversification where varieties of all five domesticates were introduced, grown, and consumed in pre-Columbian times.[13] The largest diversity of wild Capsicum peppers is consumed in Bolivia. Bolivian consumers distinguish two basic forms: ulupicas, species with small round fruits including C. eximium, C. cardenasii, C. eshbaughii, and C. caballeroi landraces; and arivivis with small elongated fruits including C. baccatum var. baccatum and C. chacoense varieties.[13]

When Christopher Columbus and his crew reached the Caribbean, they were the first Europeans to encounter Capsicum. They called them "peppers" because, like black pepper of the genus Piper known in Europe, they have a spicy, hot taste unlike other foods.[14]

Chili peppers spread to Asia through its introduction by Portuguese traders, who—aware of its trade value and resemblance to the spiciness of black pepper—promoted its commerce in the Asian spice trade routes.[10][14][15] It was introduced in India by the Portuguese towards the end of the 16th century.[16] In 21st-century Asian cuisine, chili peppers are commonly used across many regions.[17][18]

Red Bhut Jolokia and green bird's eye chilies

A wide range of intensity is found in commonly used peppers:

The top 8 world's hottest chili peppers (by country) are:

Country	Type	Hotness
United States	Pepper X	3.18M SHU(*)[28]
Wales	Dragon's Breath	2.48M SHU(*)[29]
United States	Carolina Reaper	2.2M SHU[30]
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad moruga scorpion	2.0M SHU(*)[31]
India	Bhut jolokia (Ghost pepper)	1.58M SHU[32]
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad Scorpion Butch T	1.463M SHU[33]
England	Naga Viper	1.4M SHU[34]
England	Infinity chili	1.2M SHU[35]

NOTE: SHU claims marked with an asterisk (*) have not been confirmed by Guinness World Records.[36]

Smoke-dried chipotle

Chili pepper pods are technically berries. When used fresh, they are most often prepared and eaten like a vegetable. Whole pods can be dried and then crushed or ground into chili powder that is used as a spice or seasoning. Chilies can be dried to prolong their shelf life. Chili peppers can also be preserved by brining, immersing the pods in oil, or by pickling.

Filipino tinola chicken soup with labuyo chili leaves

Chilies at a market in India

Sambal is the name for chili paste in Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine

Thai curry pastes contain large amounts of chilies

Many fresh chilies such as poblano have a tough outer skin that does not break down on cooking. Chilies are sometimes used whole or in large slices, by roasting, or other means of blistering or charring the skin, so as not to entirely cook the flesh beneath. When cooled, the skins will usually slip off easily.

The leaves of every species of Capsicum are edible. Though almost all other Solanaceous crops have toxins in their leaves, chili peppers do not. The leaves, which are mildly bitter and nowhere near as hot as the fruit, are cooked as greens in Filipino cuisine, where they are called dahon ng sili (literally "chili leaves"). They are used in the chicken soup tinola.[37] In Korean cuisine, the leaves may be used in kimchi.[38] In Japanese cuisine, the leaves are cooked as greens, and also cooked in tsukudani style for preservation.

Many Mexican dishes, including variations on chiles rellenos, use the entire chili. Dried whole chilies may be reconstituted before grinding to a paste. The chipotle is the smoked, dried, ripe jalapeño. In the northern Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora, chiltepin peppers (a wild pepper) are used in cheeses and soups to add spiciness to dishes. In southern Mexico, mole sauce is made with dried chiles, such as ancho and chipotle peppers. Chiles are used in salsas. Mexican households usually grow chile plants to use in cooking.

In India, most households always keep a stock of fresh hot green chilies at hand, and use them to flavor most curries and dry dishes. It is typically lightly fried with oil in the initial stages of preparation of the dish. Some states in India, such as Rajasthan, make entire dishes only by using spices and chilies.

Chili is a staple fruit in Bhutan. Bhutanese call this crop ema (in Dzongkha) or solo (in Sharchop). The ema datshi recipe is entirely made of chili mixed with local cheese.

Chilies are present in many cuisines. Some notable chili-forward dishes other than the ones mentioned elsewhere in this article include arrabbiata sauce, paprikash, chiles en nogada, jerk chicken, mole poblano, nam phrik, 'nduja, sambal, and som tam.

Fresh or dried chilies are often used to make hot sauce, a liquid condiment—usually bottled when commercially available—that adds spice to other dishes. Hot sauces are found in many cuisines including harissa from North Africa, chili oil from China (known as rāyu in Japan), and sriracha from Thailand. Dried chilies are also used to infuse cooking oil.

The contrast in color and appearance makes chili plants interesting to some as a purely decorative garden plant.

• Black pearl pepper: small cherry-shaped fruits and dark brown to black leaves
  

  Black pearl pepper
• Black Hungarian pepper: green foliage, highlighted by purple veins and purple flowers, jalapeño-shaped fruits[39]
• Bishop's crown pepper, Christmas bell pepper: named for its distinct three-sided shape resembling a red bishop's crown or a red Christmas bell[40]

Psychologist Paul Rozin suggests that eating chilies is an example of a "constrained risk" like riding a roller coaster, in which extreme sensations like pain and fear can be enjoyed because individuals know that these sensations are not actually harmful. This method lets people experience extreme feelings without any significant risk of bodily harm.[41]

Capsaicin, the pungent chemical in chili peppers, is used as an analgesic in topical ointments, nasal sprays, and dermal patches to relieve pain.[42] A 2022 review of preliminary research indicated that regular consumption of chili peppers was associated with weak evidence for a lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.[43]

Capsaicin extracted from chilies is used in pepper sprays and some tear gas formulations as a chemical irritant, for use as less-lethal weapons for control of unruly individuals or crowds.[44] Such products have considerable potential for misuse, and may cause injury or death.[44]

Conflicts between farmers and elephants have long been widespread in African and Asian countries, where elephants nightly destroy crops, raid grain houses, and sometimes kill people. Farmers have found the use of chilies effective in crop defense against elephants. Elephants do not like capsaicin. Because the elephants have a large and sensitive olfactory and nasal system, the smell of the chili causes them discomfort and deters them from feeding on the crops. By planting a few rows of the fruit around valuable crops, farmers create a buffer zone through which the elephants are reluctant to pass. Chili dung bombs are also used for this purpose. They are bricks made of mixing dung and chili, and are burned, creating a noxious smoke that keeps hungry elephants out of farmers' fields. This can lessen dangerous physical confrontation between people and elephants.[45]

Birds do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin, because it targets a specific pain receptor in mammals. Chili peppers are eaten by birds living in the chili peppers' natural range, possibly contributing to seed dispersal and evolution of the protective capsaicin in chili peppers, as a bird in flight can spread the seeds further away from the parent plant after they pass through its digestive system than any land or tree dwelling mammal could do so under the same circumstances, thus reducing competition for resources.[46]