Everything You Need to Know About Chile Peppers - Chili Pepper Facts, Health Benefits & Recipes

Is a Bowl of Five-Alarm Texas Hot Chili Your “Cup of Tea”?

Do you enjoy spicy food? Would your last meal wish be for an over-sized bowl of five-alarm Texas Hot Chili – with extra chili peppers on the side? In many countries and regions of the world, hot or spicy food is the norm, and often with good reason too. Many spicy foods are also healthy for a number of reasons as well. Here’s what’s “hot” on the topic of spicy foods and healthy eating.

Chile Peppers – The Heat of the Matter

If you like your food spicy hot as is the custom in regions of countries like Mexico, Liberia, Ghana and of nomadic tribes in Asian areas near the Himalayas, you’ll need to know about the two principal means of spicing food up: Chile peppers and ground red cayenne peppers. Here, we’ll talk about chile peppers.

First of all, not all chiles are burning hot (may also be spelled chili). Of the more than 200 varieties of chiles, 140 are grown in Mexico alone. Many chiles are sweet, mild flavored or even richly-flavored and definitely won’t set fire to your taste buds. There are varieties of chiles though, such as the Bhut Jolokia and Habanero, which can “burn down a house”. So always be very careful when handling chiles by preferably wearing gloves if possible, washing your hands with soapy water after handling chiles, and by all means NEVER put your hands near your eyes, ears, nose or mouth when you’ve recently handled hot chiles.

A few of the most commonly used <strong>varieties of chiles</strong> in the world are the following:

• Ancho

• Aji

• Bell peppers are the most commonly used for cooking as they are green, yellow or red, flavorful, but not hot.

• California green chiles (Anaheim variety)

• Fresno Chiles

• Jalpeños (raised in and around the region of Xalapa also spelled Jalapa, Mexico)

• Pasilla

• Pimentos

• Serrano

• Habanero (One of the HOTTEST commercially-available peppers – BEWARE of this one)

• Bhut Jolokia (The world’s HOTTEST pepper according to the Guinness Book of Records – need I say more?)

Generally, the smaller the variety of hot chile is, the hotter it is. It’s those little cherry-tomato-sized varieties that can cause a three-alarm fire.

Why Chile Peppers are HOT and Have Health Benefits

The irritant substance in hot peppers, found in the internal membranes and on the seeds of chile peppers, that produces a burning sensation is a compound called capsaicin, which causes you to salivate, will stimulate your digestion and metabolic rate in addition to causing you to sweat heavily. Both cayenne and chili peppers are thermogenic, that is they stimulate your body’s heart rate, metabolism, intestinal tract digestion, and breathing, so are used at times in weight loss applications. Chili peppers also have a number of health benefits such as being a source of vitamin C and Carotene (Provitamin A), B vitamins, especially vitamin B6, Potassium, Magnesium and Iron. Other peppers, especially Asian-grown black or white peppers, help increase circulation.

On the Subject of Cooking Chiles

As for cooking chiles, there are a myriad of ways these spicy vegetables can be enjoyed from stuffing them with flavorful fillings to roasting, drying or using them to “spice up” a wide range of other foods. Here’s a brief look at two of them:

Green Chile Stew or Chile Verde

Place a wide frying pan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil and brown one half to three quarters of a pound of cubed beef or pork shoulder. Remove meat from pan, then cook a seeded medium-sized, chopped green bell pepper until soft. In a large pot combine from two to five seeded and chopped green chiles, four to six large tomatoes (peeled and seeded but not juiced), a third of a cup of parsley, a half teaspoon of sugar, a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves, two teaspoons of ground cumin and one cup of *dry red wine and bring to a slow boil. Add browned meat and juices, cooked peppers and garlic, then simmer for 45 minutes until sauce is reduced to desired thickness and meat is tender.

*A quarter cup of lemon juice added into three quarters cup of beef broth may be substituted for dry red wine

Chile con Carne

(Here are two good versions of <strong>Texas Chili</strong> or <strong>Texas Chile Too</strong>)

Surprisingly, Chili con Carne is not a Mexican dish, but an American one. You can usually get it in Mexico especially in areas near the U.S. border. It’s typically served with sliced avocado, coriander (cilantro) leaves and sometimes white rice.

Brown one pound of fresh ground beef with three quarters tablespoon of salt and a chopped medium-sized onion. Add in three large peeled and seeded tomatoes, with three quarters to one pound of red kidney beans which have been soaked overnight and cooked until tender*. Stir in one and a half teaspoons of chili powder or two fresh, seeded and minced chiles, a half teaspoon of ground cumin seed and a quarter cup of chopped fresh cilantro. This can be served over rice, if desired.

* A large can of cooked red kidney beans can be substituted

The Chili con Carne is served with sliced avocado and cilantro.

Some Like it Chile Pepper Hot

Whether for weight loss, other health benefits or just to enjoy the spicier side of life, chile peppers can become an integral (but likely occasional) part of virtually anyone’s diet. There are dishes in regions worldwide using the hundreds of varieties of hot, mild and flavorful chiles. So no matter how you like your food, some like it chile pepper hot.