CHILI

Chili peppers originate from the Americas. It was first cultivated in Mexico about 6000 years ago, however it was used in human consuption centuries before that.

Chili is widely used in cuisine all over the world. We used it in some of our very popular snacks as well: chili peanuts & cashews, chili & lime almonds and cheese & chili cashews. All of the mentioned products make a great snack but can also be used in cooking Asia – inspired or other dishes.

Botanically, chili peppers are members of Solanceae family and are related to peppers, tomatoes and eggplants.

The biggest producer of chili is China, followed by Mexico and Turkey. In Europe, most chili grows in Spain. The widest wariety of species is grown in Peru.

The pungency of chili is measured with Scoville Scale which uses SHU (Scoville heat units) to define the strength of a pepper. The unit is based on capsaicin concentration. The mildest chili contains up to 20.000 SHU while the most spicy varieties reach up to 1 milion SHU.

There are hundrets of different festivals and other events dedicated to chili. In Slovenia, there is a traditional Chili Festival held every year in a small town Šmarje pri Jelšah.