what is dif btwn chile pepper and hot pepper?

i am confused. any help greatly appreciated.
kc

No difference, risingcreek. Columbus was mighty confused. Believing he was in India instead of the Caribbean, he called the humans he encountered "Indians" and he thought the pungent seasoning they added to their food was related to the only "hot" spice available in Europe at the time - black pepper. He was wrong on both counts.

Peppers are "chiles" in Spanish, so in English "chile peppers" are the ones associated with dishes from Spanish-speaking countries, a.k.a. hot peppers.

So "chili peppers" is a double word as is "daikon radish". Daikon is Japanese for radish.
Crazy world we live in when all these nationalities are in the same place. good old USA!

Chiles can be varying degrees of "hot" down to almost mild.

Hot peppers are always chiles but chiles are now always hot.

Peppers run the gamut from very hot to not hot at all.

In some countries "hot peppers" are differentiated from not-hot peppers by
being called "capsicums".

In spanish-speaking countries hot peppers are called picante and not-hot
ones are called dulce (sweet).

Bottom line is, chiles are a generic term for hot and
those not called chiles are NOT hot.

Then there's the tremendously popular dish called "chili" and the South American nation "Chile", as well as Columbus confusing this fruit with black peppercorns that grow on bushes halfway around the world. No wonder these terms are confusing!

another site has a forum for hot peppers and another for chile peppers so i thought maybe there was a difference. thanks

Chili = a dish made with a lot of ingredients (your choice, not going to go there right now)
Chile = a hot pepper, or a variety that's suppose to be some degree of hot whether it tastes that way or not

Yes, that's what I learned as well, both from experienced chefs and from horticultural references.

There is also "chili powder", which correctly refers to a mixture of spices and seasonings (chiles, cumin, coriander, garlic, black pepper, salt, etc. Not to be confused with "chile" powders, which are generally made from a single variety of pepper (cayenne, ancho, poblano, Californian and New Mexican are common here) with nothing else added.

-Rich

Then there is the Jalapeno ....on a stick...

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-ash2/41787_34076425683_271_n.jpg


And Chile Con Carney---Cheese stuffed peppers,deep fried at a carnival. :)

This message was edited Nov 13, 2011 12:39 PM

I always thought it was cute that "hot" dishes and peppers were called Chili or Chile - sounds like "chilly" = cold.

And it's paradoxical that a spicy dish stimulates circulation and makes you sweaty and cooler in hot weather, but warmer in cold weather.

Corey

OMG Coery since you joined DG my life has not been the same (just teasing you), but really it hasn't. You make me laugh and think at the same time and utterly confused.

>> You make me laugh and think at the same time and utterly confused.

I think that's the highest praise my "wit" has ever received!

Corey

Lucky for you. I only got a half. ;-)

Here we go again... Elleen half of what? I was OK before Corey joined DG. (grin)

Half a wit.

Guess I have the other half Hehe

(little drum roll on the rim of a drum followed by cymbal clash: "Insert laughter")

The zaniest threads I found in DG were from 2004, before my time: this one and its 4 daughter threads, about some gardeners who hated to see seeds or plants go to waste. They would make Ninja raids on roadside seedheads, dive into dumpsters ... you name it.

Weezingreen's thread on Seed Snatchin' :
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/463059/

There were also some good ones in this thread and its one daughter:
You know you're a seed saver when ...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1136999/

I remember lots of the names in the 2004 thread.
Those people have sort of disappeared over the years. Too bad, there were some great minds there.
Bernie