“Chile” is a plant, nominally associated with the genus CAPSICUM. A member
of the nightshade family, it is harvested and grown for the pungency of the ripened fruit. Hundreds of thousands of cultivars have been grown around the world, developing new flavors and increasing the natural heat which is prized for its complexity and sometimes body-numbing qualities. Contrary to popular belief, Capsaicins are native to the highlands of Bolivia and were first actively cultivated in Central Mexico about 6000BC. Until the 1500’s chile peppers were unknown to the rest of the world.
Chile is also officially the Republic of Chile, the southernmost country in South America which stretches in a long thin profile 6000 miles south along the western coast to encompass the Magellan Strait.
