Flavors of Mexico

All about chilies or peppers > Mexican chilies

Native to Mexico, chilies are found in a whole range of varieties. Fresh, dried or powdered, round or long, yellow, red, green, brown or garnet-coloured, almost all chilies belong to the Capsicum annuum family.
Chilies occupy a favoured place in Mexico, not only as a daily food source, but in medicine as well. Aztec healers recommended them as a remedy for all sorts of illnesses, from coughing to constipation.

Some people feel that biting into a hot chili and enjoying the heat is akin to masochism. But what about using it to overpower your enemies? That's what warriors did, grinding hot chilies and achiote, which they inserted into the backsides of the conquered! They first had to catch them and hold them down, but that's another story.

Finding your way through the maze that is the world of chilies isn't easy. Their names sometimes change from region to region, especially according to whether they are fresh or dried. Therefore we're presenting them in two columns, so that you'll be better able to understand the relationship.