Chipotle pepper is actually a jalapeno pepper that has been dried and smoked. It is a dominant ingredient in South American cuisine; indeed, it forms the basis of many meat dishes or sauces. It is also found at the heart of African or even Indian cuisine.
Be careful not to rub your eyes after handling it by hand as the alkaloid it contains may burn you.
Its sweet flavors of nuts and smoky notes also pair well with grilled red meat, delicate white-fleshed fish, poultry in sauce, or a chocolate dessert. Reduced to powder, it enhances nachos, tacos, burritos, homemade guacamoles, or Tex Mex spice mixes.
Peppers belong to the Solanaceae family, whose botanical name is Capsicum annum, just like other peppers as well as tomatoes and potatoes.
Also called Jalapeno pepper, chipotle pepper originally developed in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, but is now mainly cultivated in the State of Chihuahua in Mexico, in Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Sinaloa, as well as in the United States in southern Texas and southern New Mexico.
Its name comes from Nahuatl “Chilpoctli,” a macro-language of the Uto-Aztecan family, “Chil” meaning pepper and “poctli” meaning smoke.
Once dried and smoked with pecan wood, this small brown pepper with a strong and burning flavor will perfume your olive oils (in maceration), your sauces, your vinegars, your homemade hot sauce, or a simple dish of beans and lentils.
A History of Over 9000 Years
9000 years, that’s quite something! It’s been that long since civilizations have been adding peppers to their dishes. This was notably the case with the Aztecs, who used them in the drink of the gods called Xocolatl, made from cocoa, vanilla, and various spices.
We know that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the pepper during his voyage to the Americas, specifically in Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
When Christopher Columbus presented the peppers to the King’s court, the success was not significant at first, but gradually, to compensate for a shortage of Asian spices, Europeans turned to peppers, flavorful seasonings that also grow very easily under the European climate. This is how the pepper is now a classic in our kitchens!
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