chilis or not

[Rosco3163]

Just a simple question. What classifies a pepper as a chilli pepper? I have had some people say that some of the super hots like the Jalokia is not really a chilli pepper. I'm sure a lot of people just think that chili's are just the hot variety of pepper. Who can explain.

 

[mmcdermott1]

Good question for Omri or Potawie...but I will say yes a Bhut Jolokia is a pepper. C. chinese. Either of those two can give you a full write up on peppers.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Chili, chilli, chile, which one?

A chili pepper is a capsicum with capsaicin.

 

[SuperHot]

Well that's what they say "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum

I too thought that if it's hot it has to be a chili!!

 

[Tigahb8]

There may be some confusion due to "Chile's" being a US generic reference name for New Mexico type Chile pods, including
Jalapeno, Anaheims, Poblanos, and a variety of others.

 

[willard3]

Chile is the spelling in Mejico where many are grown.
All chiles, picante or sweet are called chile.

Wikipedia is unvetted crap.

 

[fubarhouse]

Anything in the capsicum genus is in fact a chilli. Some, such as what Aussie's call Capsicums or more commonly known as bell peppers are just chillies with absolutely no heat, some have read up to 500 SHU but that is not even worth crediting.

Capsicums, supermarket chillies, habaneros ect...
All the superhots are also a part of this genus.


HOWEVER.

If you are after a non-chilli burn, and you don't want to digest hydrochloric adic then radishes and wasabi are your other options. Horseradish in fact has been developed to the point where you can get a serious burn everytime, you can't build a tolerance, and is so easy to obtain. I eat the nagas now pickled as a condiment to class as a 'hot' product, when I want a nice burn, but not to be inedible - you build a tolerance to the oil that makes chilli heated.

Good luck on your pepper ventures and welcome to the forum!