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The story of chiles or as some call them—pep­pers—is fascinating. It starts with the name—chil­es or peppers? Therein lies a tale. When Columbus “discovered” the New World, he was looking for spices. Among them was black pepper, known as pimenta, and so valuable it was counted out peppercorn by peppercorn.

When introduced to the chiles of Española, he related the spiciness to black pepper, call­ing it pimento. Thus it has been known as “pepper” ever since. The Nahuatl word the Aztecs used was “chiltli,” pronounced “chilli.” Chil means the chile plant…tli is a common closure suffix and has no specific meaning. It was written as it was pronounced by the Spanish—chilli. Thus, the different words for the same plant!

The chile’s early evolution and develop­ment seems to have taken place prior to human involvement in a “golden triangle” bordered by northern Argentina and Paraguay on the south side, Brazil to the east and Bolivia to the west. Birds are the commonly accepted disbursement vector, as they are attracted to the bright colors and do not taste the heat. When humans arrived, chiles were abundant. Soon cul­tivation and trading ensured the spread of these spicy wonders, to where they are part of the cuisine for every major and several minor cultures across the globe.

We present the stories of three unique, wonderful and tasty chiles.

The Concho Chile is a unique variety of the New Mexican chile. We had heard stories of this little known chile for some time, and eventually met the gentleman responsible for resurrecting it. It had almost died out in the small northeastern town of Concho, Ariz., as it hadn’t been grown for several years. It is interesting to see how well the local oral history of the chile’s tradition meshes with the written history of the exploration of New Mexico and Arizona in 1583 by Antonio de Espejo and Friar Bernardino Beltrán. de Espejo wrote that he had noticed an absence of chiles in the Puebloan villages. Diego Pérez de Luxán documented the journey in detail, including the trading of chile seeds with the local Puebloan Indians.

The flavor is smooth, rich and earthy, with a medium to hot spiciness. The unusual thing is the heat subsides quickly, and does not upset the digestion, which is much appreciated by the older folk who still like their chiles. It pairs well with lamb, pork and beef, being used both green and red. Used green it is cooked fresh, while the red chiles were dried, crushed into flakes and used to flavor and preserve meats for the winter.

The Pasilla Bajio chile is called Chile Negro or Chilaca when green. Pasilla means “little raisin” in Spanish, as the fully ripe chile has wrinkled, deep brown dried pods with a raisin-like aroma that is famous for its role in Mole, a delicious traditional holiday sauce from central Mexico. The original Mole had more than 100 ingredients and took just about an entire village to prepare. Today, there are seven traditional Moles from the Oaxaca region, and many more deriva­tions. The Pasilla’s rich smoky flavor with a mild heat add depth and complexity to the flavors in enchilada sauces and salsas, as well as being one of the “secret” ingre­dients in Mole.

The Lemon Drop pepper is known by several names—Aji Limo, Aji Limon and Lemon Drop. The first name, Aji Limo refers to the probable origins of this fiery little lemon-flavored explosive—the western slopes of the Andes, not far from Lima, Peru. The Aji Limon and Lemon Drop names are easy to understand as this has quite a bit of citrusy lemon flavor to go along with its well-known heat.

The combination guarantees richly flavored, yet piquant dishes, but demands the heat be taken into account. Like most peppers, cooking mellows the heat and releases all sorts of intriguing, subtle flavors. The Aji Limon has been documented to being under cultivation in the high Andes since at least 400 B.C. and was well established as a cornerstone of Peruvian cuisine when the Spanish conquest arrived. There is a famous salsa de aji limon that uses mango, mustard, ginger, sugar, salt and limes along with the Aji Limon to create a wonderful sweet-hot and addictive salsa.

Ever since mankind first discovered the chile, we have been captivated by it, and have spread it from a small area in Central America to the entire world. Try some new flavors in your garden this year with a different chile or two!