| The word "chile" comes from the Nahuatl word "chilli", | | | | Caribbean islands, and the southern parts of North |
| which means red or red plant. The Spanish changed | | | | America. Wild chiles can still be found in the |
| the name to "chile." Today, the words pepper and chile | | | | southwestern US, Mexico, and parts of Central |
| are used interchangeably to refer to both hot and | | | | America. |
| sweet chiles. | | | | In the 15th century, Columbus brought chiles back to |
| Chiles are vegetables native to South America. | | | | Europe, and called them peppers, even though they |
| Members of the nightshade family, they share a | | | | were unrelated to the black pepper [piper nigrum] |
| common heritage with tomatoes, eggplants, and | | | | known in Europe at that time. Other explorers brought |
| potatoes. Chiles can also be used as a spice, as they | | | | various chiles to other parts of Europe and Asia, |
| are often dried and ground to be used for seasoning. | | | | where they quickly spread and were incorporated into |
| Botanically, they are considered a berry bush. They | | | | the local cuisine. |
| may be used in either fresh or dried form in | | | | Chiles brought to Korea were incorporated into kimchi, |
| homeopathic medicine. | | | | a cabbage dish that has many variations, along with |
| Chiles once grew wild, then gradually people began to | | | | many other dishes. Koreans now eat more chiles than |
| domesticate them. Often their seeds were eaten by | | | | any other people in the world. Chiles make up |
| birds which traveled across large areas, dropping the | | | | approximately 12.5% of the South Koreans' daily food |
| seeds in new places. Over time, the cultivation of chiles | | | | intake. |
| moved northward into Central America, Mexico, the | | | | |