Chile peppers are mainly used as food additives for coloring and flavoring various food preparations. Some species of chile peppers are grown as ornamental plants. Chile peppers such as bell peppers and jalapenos are used as vegetables. Chile peppers are also a good source of capsaicin, a major antioxidant. Chile Peppers have medicinal properties also. Medicinal value of some species of chile peppers is attributed to the presence of capsaicin in them.

So in a nutshell, the economic importance of chile peppers is as follows:

  1. As a food additive, flavoring and coloring agent
  2. As a vegetable
  3. As a spice and condiment
  4. As a garnishing and topping agent
  5. As an ornamental plant
  6. As a rich source of capsaicin, an antioxidant and a health-promoting substance
  7. As a medicine, especially a chile tincture

Medicinal Uses: Chile peppers are carminative, stomachic, stimulant, rubefacient, and tonic. It stimulates body temperature, salivation, and gastric juice flow. It is used in folk medicines for curing dropsy, colic, diarrhoea, asthma, arthritis, muscle cramps, and toothache.

Side Effects of Chile Peppers: Prolonged skin contact with chile peppers or its derivatives causes dermatitis and skin blisters. If eyes are exposed to chile pepper juice, it irritates and burns eyes; therefore chile peppers are used for making ‘pepper sprays’ to be used against thefts and crimes. Over consumption of chilies may induce stomach ulcers, gastroenteritis and kidney damage. Capsicum frutescens is believed to have hypoglycemic properties.

Chile peppers are grown for different purposes such as for vegetables, spices, condiments, sauces and pickles. Chile peppers may be processed into dry chillies for export purposes and long term usage. According to the data available from USDA nutrient database, chile peppers are rich in vitamins, minerals and total dietary fiber. It is rich in calcium and Vitamin C. Chile peppers are moderate source of protein, carbohydrate, and sugars also. Chile peppers are also a good source of capsaicin, a major antioxidant. Chile peppers are believed to have some medicinal properties also.

Health Benefits of Chile Peppers: Chile pepper has a soothing effect on the digestive system and it is a good home remedy for colds, sore throats and fevers. Chile peppers are known for its heart stimulant properties. Chile peppers are believed to be used effectively for alleviating medical conditions such as cancers (prostate cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer), painful joints, toothaches, bronchitis, headaches, ulcers (stomach ulcers, peptic ulcers), arthritis, frostbite and psoriasis. Chile peppers stimulate blood circulation, stop bleeding, and reduce cholesterol. It is recommended as a weight loss diet also. It is believed that chile peppers detoxify carcinogens from the human body system.

Food Uses of Chile Peppers: Non-pungent chile peppers such as bell peppers may be eaten raw, stir-fried, or may be added as an ingredient in other culinary preparations. Chile fruits may be used in different ways to produce different flavours. Grinding the fresh fruits produces a particular, palatable pungent flavor. Grinding the dried fruits gives another strongly pungent flavour. Toasting or frying dried fruits before grinding produces yet another smoky, less pungent flavour. Soaking the chile fruits in water produces yet another type of flavour.

Processed Chile Peppers: There is a good demand for processed chile products such as frozen, canned, or pickled chile peppers. Chile cultivars good for processing purposes include pimento, jalapeño, Serrano, peperoncini, yellow wax peppers, and the New Mexican chile peppers.

Dehydrated and Dried Chile Peppers: Dried/dehydrated products of chile peppers also have a great demand among the consumers. Some of the important dried chile peppers are New Mexican peppers, cayenne peppers, ancho peppers, Pasilla peppers, mirasol peppers, piquin peppers, and de árbol peppers.

Ancho peppers are sweetish, mulatto peppers are chocolaty, mirasol peppers are fruity, and chipotle peppers are smoky in flavours. Dried red chile peppers are used to make chilli powders and many types of curry powders. Whole dried chile pods are ground to make highly pungent chilli powders. Removal of seeds and placenta from the fruits decreases pungency and increases red colour of the chilli powder.

Food Uses of Fresh Green Chilies: Fresh green chilies are used in various food preparations to add flavor and pungency to foods. Green chilies may be chopped or sliced or split in halves to be used in foods. Sometimes chili paste is made by grinding the fresh chilies. Chili paste is mainly used to add flavor and hotness in non-vegetarian spicy food preparations. Green chilies are a good source of a number of nutrients.

Food Uses of Fresh Red Chilies: Red chilies are ripened pods of green chilies. Red chilies are harvested when the green pods have completely changed to red colour. Red chilies are hotter and spicier than green chilies due to the increased content of capsaicin. Red chilies are good source of minerals and vitamins too. Edible portion of 100g of fresh red chilies provide about 40 kcal of energy. It is also a rich source of dietary fiber i.e. 1.5g per100g.

We have a book on ‘Chile Peppers‘….

Check out our publishing services here…

We publish top quality videos on various ‘Food & Agriculture’ topics. You may subscribe our video channel here…