A Little History of Peppers and a Fun Giveaway

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I spent five days last week at a writers’ conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico and had a wonderful time. In addition to learning all kinds of new things and networking with other authors, I got to enjoy some of the local culinary delights. Let me tell you, in New Mexico, that means Hatch chiles in just about every dish. In fact, Hatch, New Mexico is considered the Chile Capital of the World, and they take their hatch chiles very seriously. Spending most of my life in Arizona, I’ve come to love spicy food, so for me this wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t say the same for a few of the conference attendees coming from back east ?

Did you know that peppers made their way to the United States starting from South America around ten thousand years ago? Aztecs and Mayans grew dozens of varieties. The peppers traveled with Indigenous people north as they moved through what in present day Central America and then into Mexico. Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate is credited for bringing the first chile seeds from Mexico to New Mexico. The plants produced from these seeds loved the arid, high-desert climate and thrived, cross-pollinating with other pepper plants to become the different Hatch varieties we know and love today. It’s no surprise that cowboys and chuck wagon cooks used peppers to season their food as dried versions of the plant lasted for months on the trail and flavored staples like beans and stews.

I thought it might be fun to play a little matching game. On top are pictures of seven peppers commonly used in Southwest cooking. On the bottom are the names of the peppers. See if you can match the picture of the pepper to the name for all seven and put your answer in the comments. Everyone who participates will be entered into a random drawing for a “surprise” pepper giveaway. Doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, the fun is in the guessing.

 

Bonus question: What’s the difference between chile and chili? No Googling 🙂

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Cathy McDavid has been penning Westerns for Harlequin since 2005. With over 55 titles in print and 1.6 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world seven years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.

35 thoughts on “A Little History of Peppers and a Fun Giveaway”

  1. Good morning Cathy! My husband and I can grow peppers! Usually hot peppers, banana peppers and bell peppers. They seemed to be the easiest to grow! Anyway, your last picture didnt post for me. So, I will say #2 is jalapeño. I didn’t Google! LOL But, I recognized about three of them. I google most of the time to spell!

    Oh well. Thanks for the article on peppers and Mexican delights.

  2. The graphic with the names isn’t working for me on mobile or laptop.

    I’m going to guess: serrano, jalepeno, poblano, scotch bonnet, ancho, cubanel, and cayenne. I’m sure some of these are wrong, but I had to identify a lot of produce when I worked at a grocery store in the late 80s, so a few might be right. This is from memory.

  3. 1.not sure, 2. jalapenos, 3. poblanos. 4. bell pepper, 5. ancho pepper, 6. serrano,7. banana pepper
    Just guessing, no googling but not sure about my answers since I don’t really like spicy foods though I do on occasion use jalapenos, serrano peppers for some homemade salsa and use bell peppers for fajita stir fry meals. Ancho peppers for making some sauce for Pork Asado meals and poblanos for stuffed chile rellenos. my family enjoys them and I love cooking for them 🙂

  4. 2 Serrano 2.jalapeño 3 poblano
    4 bll 5 ancho 6 Serrano 6.??? 7banana

    Chile is a country and chili is a food item

    • Well now that I can see…I am a oo wrong and have never heard if the 2nd to last on the list…lol. Midwest gal here who admits tjan she remembers when bell peppers were also called “mangos”.

  6. My maternal grandfather loved his salsa with the hottest pepper’s grown in New Mexico. Flaming Hot like if flames could come out of your mouth.

  7. Interesting stuff, Cathy. I suck at pepper ID, but I think the difference between chili and Chile is that one is the pepper and one is a dish that includes the peppers, plus, Chile is a country in South America. Fun post!

  8. Hey all. Sorry about the mix up. One of my graphics disappeared overnight. Sigh. Lovely Karen stepped in and reloaded it for me. Not to worry, all your answers count and will be entered in the drawing. All is good now!

  10. My guess is 1. Mirasol 2. Jalapeño 3. Poblano 4. Haberno 5. Ancho Chili 6. Serrano 7. Hatch Chile ?

  11. Oh what an interesting post. I have a friend who likes to share her peppers with everyone. I am not so big on spicy Peppers. anyway, here goes: 1Mirasol. 2 Serrano. 3 hatch Chile. 4 haberno. 5 poblano. 6 Jalapeño. 7 ancho Chile

    difference between Chile and Chili. the first refers to a hot pepper plant. the second refers to a meat dish like a stew or soup

  12. This is a total guess. 1. Serrano 2. Jalepeno 3. Mirasol. 4. Haberno 5. Ancho chili 6. Hatch chili 7. Poblano

  13. I am not much of a pepper person except for bell peppers. I think #2 is Jalepeno. Chile is a country and chili is something you eat.

  14. 1: Mirasol 2: Jalapeño 3: Poblano 4: Habanero (Back away slowly!) 5: Ancho 6: Serrano 7: Hatch

    They really are beautiful but some of them scare me. 🙂

  15. Good morning. Here are my answers: 1 – mirasol, 2 – jalapeno, 3 – poblano, 4 – habanero, 5 – ancho chile, 6 serrano, 7 – hatch chile. The difference between chili and chile is the location that you live in. One place spells it with an e and another spells it with an i, but they both mean the same thing. Also, one can also mean the country, too.

  16. My guess from the picture is: 1. Serrano, 2. Jalapeño, 3. Poblano, 4. Haberno, 5. Ancho Chile, 6. Mirasol, 7. Hatch Chile

  17. Chile is a country and chili is something you eat. Those were all pictures of different types of chilies. 1. Serrano 2. Jalapeno 3. Poblano 4. Haberno 5. Ancho chile 6. Mirasol 7. Hatch chili.

  18. #2 jalapeno, #3 poblano, #4 habanero, the others I am not sure of… Chile and Chili… one is a country, the other food.

  19. Not much on pepper ID, lol, but I’m pretty sure #2 is jalapeno. I also know that chili is a dish and chile is a type of pepper and Chile is a country. I’m one of those people who has trouble eating spicy foods. Wish I didn’t, they taste wonderful but they don’t love me.

  20. I’m not much of a pepper or chili fan but I do have some fairly mild Anaheim chilies in my garden and of course Bell peppers. To me #1 looks the most like the New Mexico chili seed packet I received at a conference in Albuquerque years ago so I will say Hatch for it and I think #2 is a jalapeño. The rest I have no idea :). I have seen chili for the recipes as well as for the vegetable. The country is Chile.

  21. 1. Mirasol 2. Jalapeno 3. Poblano 4. Habanero 5. Ancho 6. Serrano 7. Hatch
    Chile is a country. Chili is a stew.

  23. Hello. I don’t see the list of pepper names but I’m pretty sure that #4 is a Red Bell Pepper and #7 is a Banana Pepper. The difference between Chile and chili is that Chile is a country and chili is a food. Thanks for the tutorial on peppers. I like learning things like this. My grandfather was one of those “the hotter, the better” people when it came to food.

  25. I am going to say ancho chili, jalapeño,serrano, habenero, mirasol,hatch chili, pablano.

  32. Chile is a country and a pepper and chili is food. I don’t eat pepper but 2 is jalapeño , 3 pablono, and 4 is habanero .

  33. 1. Serrano 2. Jalapeno 3.Poblano 4.Mirasol 5.Ancho 6. Hatch 7. Habanero. Chile is a country and chili is a food dish.

  34. Not an expert on peppers but this what I think.
    1 Mirasol
    2 Jalepeno
    3 Poblano
    4 Habanero
    5 Anchor
    6 Serrano
    7 Hatch
    Bonus question chilli is a soup like food and Chile is peppers.

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