The Scoville scale is a measurement of pungency of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour.
The bell pepper is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, chocolate, candy cane striped, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent chili varieties as "sweet peppers". While they are botanically fruits—classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish. Other varieties of the genus Capsicum are categorized as chili peppers when they are cultivated for their pungency, including some varieties of Capsicum annuum.
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli, are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add "heat" to dishes. Capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids are the substances that give chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Chili peppers exhibit a range of heat and flavors. This diversity is the reason behind the availability of different types of paprika and chili powder, each offering its own taste and heat level.
A chutney is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion, or mint dipping sauce.
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum. A mature jalapeño chili is 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 25–38 mm wide, and hangs down from the plant. The pungency of jalapeño peppers varies, but is usually between 4,000 and 8,500 units on the Scoville scale. Commonly picked and consumed while still green, it is occasionally allowed to fully ripen and turn red, orange, or yellow. It is wider and generally milder than the similar Serrano pepper.
A chipotle, or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in different forms, such as chipotles en adobo.
Chili powder is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices. It is used as a spice to add pungency (piquancy) and flavor to culinary dishes. In American English, the spelling is usually "chili"; in British English, "chilli" is used consistently.
Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist.
Adobo or adobar is the immersion of food in a stock composed variously of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. The Portuguese variant is known as carne de vinha d'alhos. The practice, native to Iberia, was widely adopted in Latin America, as well as Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia.
Capsicum annuum is a fruiting plant from the family Solanaceae (nightshades), within the genus Capsicum which is native to the northern regions of South America and to southwestern North America. The plant produces berries of many colors including red, green, and yellow, often with pungent taste. It also has many varieties and common names including paprika, chili pepper, jalapeño, cayenne, bell pepper, and many more with over 200 variations within the species. It is also one of the oldest cultivated crops, with domestication dating back to around 6,000 years ago in regions of Mexico. The genus Capsicum has over 30 species but Capsicum annuum is the primary species in its genus, as it has been widely cultivated for human consumption for a substantial amount of time and has spread across the world. This species has many uses in culinary applications, medicine, self defense, and can even be ornamental.
Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers.
A pickled pepper is a Capsicum pepper preserved by pickling, which usually involves submersion in a brine of vinegar and salted water with herbs and spices, often including peppercorns, coriander, dill, and bay leaf.
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant.
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit. Sweet or bell peppers and some chili peppers belong to the Capsicum annuum species, making it the most cultivated species from the genus.
Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from Capsicum annuum varietals in the Longum group, including chili peppers. Paprika can have varying levels of heat, but the chili peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce chili powder. In some languages, but not English, the word paprika also refers to the plant and the fruit from which the spice is made, as well as to peppers in the Grossum group.
