Plant seeds
The jalapeño chili is named after the city of Xalapa in Mexico, where the pepper was traditionally grown. However, Mexicans also know it by the names chile gordo , which means "fat chili pepper", and cuaresmeño , which refers to its traditional place on the Lenten table. The first documented mention (as chipotle , i.e. smoked jalapeño) is found in the Florentine Codex, where the priest and ethnographer Bernardino de Sahagún reports how popular the pepper was among the Aztecs in the 16th century: it was used in cooking, medicine and in certain cultural ceremonies. Today, jalapeños are grown throughout Mexico and the thick-walled fruits are known worldwide. Although they are usually eaten in the green stage, either fresh or pickled, the fruits ripen to a red color and are surprisingly sweet (Scoville units: 2,500-8,000).
Plant seeds
The jalapeño chili is named after the city of Xalapa in Mexico, where the pepper was traditionally grown. However, Mexicans also know it by the names chile gordo , which means "fat chili pepper", and cuaresmeño , which refers to its traditional place on the Lenten table. The first documented mention (as chipotle , i.e. smoked jalapeño) is found in the Florentine Codex, where the priest and ethnographer Bernardino de Sahagún reports how popular the pepper was among the Aztecs in the 16th century: it was used in cooking, medicine and in certain cultural ceremonies. Today, jalapeños are grown throughout Mexico and the thick-walled fruits are known worldwide. Although they are usually eaten in the green stage, either fresh or pickled, the fruits ripen to a red color and are surprisingly sweet (Scoville units: 2,500-8,000).
