Chilies
Chilies are a genus of fruiting plants that originated in Central and South America, where several species were domesticated between 6,000 and 4,000 BCE. They spread to Europe during the Columbian exchange and from there, were rapidly adopted in throughout the world.
Five species of Capsicum were domesticated and cultivated: C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens. By far, most of the cultivated varieties in the world are from the species Capsicum annuum.
Chilies are perennial plants that continue to produce fruit throughout the year, but in temperate climates they are grown in summer as annuals. They need a long, warm season to ripen well.
Chilies produce fruits which are commonly eaten fresh, or dried/smoked and ground into flakes or powder to use as a spice (chili pepper).
Naming conventions
Chilies have many names in the English language. The Nahuatl word for them was originally transcribed as “chīlli”, from which words “chile” (Spain), “chilli” (UK), and “chili” (US) are derived. Chilies picked up the moniker “pepper” from Europeans, who likened their spice to the heat of the unrelated black pepper plant (Piper nigrum). Currently, Capsicum fruits are commonly referred to by any one of these names.
To make things more confusing, some people swear up and down that “chili” should refer only to the Texan dish “chili con carne”, which I find ridiculous since the name of the dish is simply Spanish for “chilies with meat”.
Personally, I prefer to refer to Capsicum plants as chilies, and for culinary purposes, I divide these into hot and sweet chilies. Many people classify chilies into two groups: chili peppers (hot) and bell peppers (sweet), but I disagree because it doesn’t take other sweet chilies into account.
In the Pacific Northwest
Similarly to citrus, another warm-climate plant, many techniques have been developed to extend the season for growing peppers in northern climates. As a result, with enough effort, countless varieties from several species can be grown successfully in the Pacific Northwest.
However, even though we can grow some chilies with plastic polytunnels and plastic sheets, I feel the goal should be to find productive, staple varieties that are especially adapted to our climate.
We have a shorter warm growing season in the Pacific Northwest, so it makes sense to select early-ripening chilies. For us, that means primarily growing varieties of the species Capsicum annuum.
Species and varieties
Chilies
Common chili (Capsicum annuum)
Hot chili varieties
Jalapeno chilies
‘Fresno’
Serrano chilies
‘Chimayo’
‘Anaheim’
‘Espelette’
Korean chilies (gochu)
‘Aleppo’
Hungarian wax chilies
Cherry chilies
Sweet chili varieties
Sweet Italian chilies
‘Jimmy Nardelo’
Pimiento chilies
‘Padron’ and ‘Shishito
Ají chili (Capsicum baccatum)
‘Cacho de cabra’
Habanero chili (Capsicum chinense)
Bird chili (Capsicum frutescens)
Rocoto chili (Capsicum pubescens)
Common chili
Capsicum annuum, the common chili, is the most important domesticated species of chili.
The species has been cultivated into a staggering number of sweet and hot chili varieties, including bell peppers, cayennes, jalapenos, serranos, and paprika chilies. Attempts have been made to group these varieties into meaningful cultivar groups, but the immense variability displayed by the species has made this difficult to accomplish. I’m going to cover some selected varieties and types that do well here. There are undoubtedly additional promising varieties out there.
Searching through nursery offerings, anecdotal accounts, and OSU chili growing trials, it appears that many of the most successful varieties in the Pacific Northwest climate are thin-walled, conical, small- and mid-sized C. annuum chilies from cooler climates, such as mountainous areas or northern latitudes. Thin-walled varieties, which can be sweet or spicy, roast and grill well and are often dried for chili powder or paprika.
The chili varieties and types listed are reported to be flavorful, productive and early in our region.
Selected hot chili varieties
Jalapeño chilies are consistently reported as productive and early. Jalapeños are mild-to-medium spicy when green and picked either green or red. One of the most-cultivated chilies in the world and a popular choice in our region. Jalapeños are originally from Mexico. Dried and smoked ones are known as “chipotles”; they have an earthy, smoky flavor.
‘Fresno’ is a variety closely related to jalapeños, usually sold red, that trialed well.
Serrano chilies are spicy at an early stage and can be used green or ripened to red. Originally from the central highlands of Mexico, serranos are one of the most popular chilies in Mexico. Likewise, they are often commercially grown in the western United States.
‘Chimayó’ is a variety of New Mexican chile related to ‘Hatch’ chilies that does well in our climate. The city of Chimayó is at a high altitude and has a temperate climate. The chili is notable for its fruity, slightly smoky and earthy flavor with mild-to-medium heat.
‘Anaheim’ is another variety of New Mexican chile derived from seeds brought to the city of Anaheim, California, at the end of the 1800s. The variety is commonly grown, productive and resilient. Usually harvested green, they are much milder than jalapeños.
The climate of the Basque country is similar to that of the Pacific Northwest. The most famous Basque chili variety is ‘Espelette’, from the town of Espelette, where people grow a small, mildly-spicy red chili that is dried and ground into chili flakes. Other Basque and Galician chilies should also do well throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Korean chilies are productive in the Pacific Northwest. These thin-walled, medium-heat red chilies have a very fruity and bright taste. Korean chili varieties, or “gochu”, are traditionally used to make kimchi. Chilies are eaten green or dried and crushed into red chili flake, known as “gochugaru”.
The best-known Turkish-type chili is likely ‘Aleppo’, known there as “pul biber”. OSU trials indicate that 'Aleppo’ tested well in the Willamette Valley, and given the climatic similarities we share with Turkey, it’s likely that it would do especially well in warmer areas of our region. Other thin-walled Turkish peppers such as ‘Aci Sivri’ have also been reported to do well in our climate. However, ‘Urfa’, another widely eaten Turkish variety, tested poorly.
Hungarian wax chilies are one of several chilies commonly used to make paprika, or Hungarian chili powder, a key ingredient in the country’s cuisine. Wax chilies can be either mild or spicy; spicy ones are usually medium-hot.
Cherry chilies are very small and spicy red Hungarian peppers used to make spicy paprika.
Selected sweet chili varieties
Bell peppers are the best-known sweet chilies, and there are some early-ripening varieties available, but they appear to have more difficulties overall in our region. Fortunately, there are numerous other varieties that were selected to lack capsaicin, especially from Italy, Turkey, Spain, and the Balkans.
Sweet Italian chilies are thin-walled, conical or horn-shaped chilies. They’re a good alternative to bell peppers, which tend to struggle in our region. Sweet Italian chilies consistently score well in terms of productivity and flavor. A well-known variety in the Pacific Northwest is ‘Jimmy Nardelo’.
Pimiento chilies are small, sweet red chilies that are popular in Spain.
‘Padrón’ and ‘Shishito’ chilies are two highly similar varieties that do very well in our cool climate. Both are a common sight at farmer’s markets here. ‘Padron’ chilies are from the town of Padrón in northern Spain. They are usually eaten green and blistered over high heat. The ‘Shishito’ variety, on the other hand, is from Japan.
The chilies are mild and not spicy, but once in a while one of them is hot. If left to ripen to red, Padron and shishito chilies become spicy.
Other chili species
Other Capsicum species are more likely to be specialty chilies, grown in smaller amounts with more effort. C. baccatum has the most promise overall.
C. chinense and C. frutescens are closely related to each other and C. annuum. Together, they are grouped in the C. annuum species complex. C. baccatum and C. pubescens are distinct.
In addition to the species listed below, there are another 30 or so wild species, with more likely undiscovered. Some, like C. chacoense, from Chile and Argentina, might do well on the basis of their geographical provenance.
The ají chilies of Peru and Bolivia are from the species Capsicum baccatum. Some ají chilies ripen well in our climate, in particular Chilean ones. Ají chilies have a bright, fruity and citrusy flavor and are medium-hot to hot.
The ‘Cacho de cabra’ chili is of note for its geographical origin in southern Chile, which makes it a good candidate for the Pacific Northwest. It’s confirmed to be grown around the city of Concepción and possibly further south. The dried, smoked chilies are ground and mixed with salt and spices (coriander and/or cumin) to make a traditional Mapuche chili flake known as “merkén”.
Capsicum chinense originated in the Amazon and includes habanero and ‘Scotch bonnet’ chilies, and some of the hottest chilies in the world. Varieties often need more time and sun to ripen than C. annuum varieties, which limits their success in the Pacific Northwest.
Also from the Amazon and very closely related to C. chinense, Capsicum frutescens includes the bird chilies, tabascos and other small, high-heat chilies. C. frutescens varieties don’t ripen as well in our climate.
Coastal areas have more difficulty ripening chilies than warmer areas inland due to cooler weather and less sun, but the rocoto chili, Capsicum pubescens, prefers a relatively mild, cool climate and dislikes hot weather. Rocoto chilies have greater cold-hardiness because they’re originally from higher elevations in the Peru and Bolivia. However, they need a long time to ripen properly, so are unlikely to crop well unless they are grown as perennials.
Rocoto chilies are confirmed to succeed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Unfortunately, I’ve so far had a hard time confirming that they can grow further north than that, though it seems likely that they would do well in coastal areas as long as they are able to overwinter.
Rocotos are also known as “manzano” chilies. The black-seeded chilies have a sweet, fruity flavor and medium heat. They are not as suitable for drying due to their thick walls.
Cooking with chilies
Capsaicin
Chilies adapted to have their seeds eaten and dispersed by birds. Birds are not affected by the spicy compound capsaicin, and the bright fruit attracts them. Mammals, on the other hand, experience capsaicin as a burning sensation. Us humans are just the odd ones that enjoy it as a seasoning.
The Scoville scale is used to measure this sensation, scientifically referred to as “pungency”. Most culinary chilies fall between 0 to 1,500,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units). Chilies grown in the Pacific Northwest tend to fall in the lower half of the scale.
Capsaicin increases in chilies as they ripen, so mature chilies will have higher levels of capsaicin. Some chilies, on the other hand, were bred to select a recessive trait that removes the capsaicin; these are the sweet chilies.
Chili leaves
Chili leaves are eaten as a vegetable in many Asian cultures (including Korea, China, Thailand, and the Philippines). The leaves are only eaten cooked. I have not been able to determine if other species of chili leaves are used, and so far can only confirm that the leaves of C. annuum chilies are consumed.
