Chili peppers are famous throughout the world from the fiery cuisines of Mexico, India, Thailand and Africa to the subtle flavor enhancement of the most delicate dishes. The hot varieties can also be picked at any color stage, but are hottest if allowed to fully ripen. Chili peppers ripen through a wide range of colors from yellow, orange, purple and even brown. Some chili peppers turn bright red, which is more often an indication of ripeness rather than hotness.

Chili peppers are perennial shrubs native to South America, which are grown as annuals in our colder climate. They range in hotness from mild to fiery hot. The burning sensation is attributed to chemical compounds called capsaicinoids, which are stored in the light-colored veins, on the walls, and surrounding the seeds. Capsaicin acts on the pain receptors in the mouth, not the taste buds. Experts agree that long hot dry summers produce the best (hottest) chili peppers.

Chili Peppers Origin

The chili plant originated in Latin America, where it was cultivated from its wild form by South American Indians. Christopher Columbus is regarded as the first European to sample the fruit, and indeed coined the term pepper. With the Spanish firmly in control of the Mexican economy, the chili was introduced initially to the Philipines and then to China and other parts of Asia.

Although it is advantageous to grow peppers in a greenhouse or conservatory, chili plants will thrive outside in areas once night time temperatures reach 10 degrees centigrade and above. Like tomato plants, pepper plants rarely withstand even the slightest frost. It should be noted that the growth of pepper plants is slow at temperatures below 15 degrees centigrade, the flowers form at temperatures of 18.5 degrees centigrade and fruit formation is hampered by temperatures over 32 degrees centigrade. Chili plants prefer a well-drained, sandy or silt-loam soil. If growing outside then stand the plants 18 cm apart in a sunny but sheltered site.

Although grown as an annual outside of its native South America, the chili is in fact a perennial shrub that can tolerate temperatures ranging from 7 to 29 degrees centrigrade, annual rainfalls between 0.3 and 4.6 m and soil pH 4.3 to 8.7.