They are more closely associated with Mexican food than any other ingredient – subtle and flavourful, warm and smoky, or extremely fiery, the chilli is as versatile as Mexican food itself.

Chillies have been an important part of the South and Central American diet for over 9000 years, and are the first thing most of us think of when someone mentions Mexican food. They represent the potent heat, but also the bright, bold colours, that make Mexican food so exciting.

In Europe some of us think of chillies as always being hot – and, if you’re slightly afraid of spicy food, maybe too hot: but there’s an enormous variety of shapes, sizes, flavours and potencies on offer.


The heat of a chilli can actually be measured scientifically by the Scolville Scale (devised by Wilbur Scolville in 1912), which gauges the amount of capsaicin present. Capsiacin is what makes chillies hot: it’s a chemical compound that stimulates nerve endings in the skin.


The Naga Jolokia (or ‘King Cobra’, because of its deadly bite) is officially the hottest chilli in the world – these peppers are so hot that in some parts of India they are smeared on fences as a safety precaution to keep out wild elephants. The habanero pepper meanwhile is so hot that when it is pureed, the fumes given off in the blender can actually burn the skin.


Even when using the more common chillies you can find in the supermarket, like the ever-popular jalapeño, you should take some precautions. When preparing fresh chillies, remove the seeds and stalk, and chop finely – most importantly, you should wash your hands thoroughly as soon as you’ve finished, and concentrate hard on not accidentally rubbing your eyes while chopping! Some people even like to use gloves while chopping chillies, to take this danger out of the equation all together.


Once the food is on the table, even cooked chillies can be a bit intense sometimes. If you get a nasty (fiery) shock, don’t be tempted to wash it away with water, because this will just spread the heat around – instead, swallow a spoonful of sugar, or a mouthful of bread or rice.