When is a chili pepper not a pepper

Let's talk about peppers and chilies. Are chili peppers really peppers?
Or are chilies really something different than peppers.

Of course, the black pepper that we have in the shaker on the table is not related to chilies at all. It is native to South India and is totally unrelated to chilies. In this case the name pepper derives from the Sanskrit word "pippali".

But what about bell peppers? Or a chili pepper? Obviously, they aren't peppers as mentioned above, so what are they then? Are they chilies?

Acually - they are all in the same family (Capsicum) and are all "peppers" and at the same time they are all "chilies". In truth, however, it's probably more proper to call them chilies than to refer to them as peppers (even though some - like the bell pepper - are only known by that name).

Originally the word pepper referred to the table pepper we talked about above, not the chili peppers but the word "pepper" began to be used to refer to chilies with some chilies actually being named peppers. That's what has created all the confusion.

The easy way to remember is this rule of thumb. If you grind it from a pepper mill or shake it from a shaker on the table - it's not a chili.

So a bell pepper is really a chili, as is habanero chili pepper.

Many people consider bell peppers to be different than chili peppers (usually defining a chili as a pepper with heat) when in fact they are from the same plant family - they just have different amounts of capsaicin which is the chemical in their flesh that provides the heat.

The relative heat in a chili pepper is usually rated in "Scoville Units" after Wilbur Scoville who originally devised the test to measure the heat level of chilies.

Some Familiar Types Of Chilies:

Bell Peppers (green or red): These are the mildest of the chili family. Used in the dishes of many cultures. Green bell peppers are immature red bell peppers. Scoville units = zero.

Anaheim: Very mild. Six to eight inches in size and deep, shiny green. Often stuffed or added to salsas. Scoville units = 500 - 2,500.

Cayenne: From four to twelve inches in length. Deep green, yellow, orange, or red. Long, skinny, and wrinkled in appearance. Hot in taste. Scoville units = 30,000 - 50,000.

Jalapeno: Range from dark green to red. Use whenever recipe simply calls for hot chile peppers. They can be fresh or canned. Scoville units = 2,500 - 8,000.

Poblano: Dark green, shiny and large in size. Mild to medium on the hotness scale. They can be fresh or canned. Scoville units = 1,000 to 2,000.

Serrano: Fairly high on the hotness scale. Can be found canned, pickled, or packed in oil with vegetables. Often served in Thai or Mexican dishes. Scoville units = 8,000 - 22,000.

Habanero: The hottest pepper on earth. Often used to make scorching hot sauces. Scoville units = 300,000 - 400,000.

All chilies are good for you - with a good supply of vitamins A, C and E along with folic acid and potassium. Some scientific studies have also found that capsaicin can help to beat cancer cells - particularly prostate cancer.

So eat up! Whether it's the mild bell pepper, the nice heat of a jalapeno or the scorching heat of a habanero, your body will thank you.

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