History of the Chile Pepper

Professor Chile Pepper — From simple beginnings, a wide variety of chile peppers now exist worldwide

Some 13.8 million years ago, a plant in South/Central America evolved a berry-like fruit with capsaicinoid proteins possessing a pungent property that deterred mammals from eating them. Ironically, that very same "spicy" quality – some 6,000-10,000 years ago – ends up having the exact opposite effect on humans.

While deterring mammals and attracting birds turned out to be a successful evolutionary strategy early on, it was human interest in the pepper plant that ultimately helped it spread across the globe. And, as caretakers, many cultures through the generations have helped these remarkable plants achieve astounding diversity.

Chile Pepper Milestones

Chile peppers are believed to be one of the oldest domesticated crops in the Americas and their popularity is either established or gaining in many cultures. Given the associated time frames, historical knowledge on their use is still being investigated and debated. Below, is a timeline of interesting milestones, to the best we've currently been able to determine.

16.8 million years ago

Single common ancestor to the Capsicum genus emerges, likely in the tropical South American region centered in what is now Bolivia.

13.8 million years ago

Chile peppers are believed to have developed spiciness.

10,000 years ago

Date believed by some to be earliest evidence of chile pepper domestication.

9,000-7,000 years ago

Chile pepper seeds found in Guitarrero Cave, Peru and Ocampo Caves, Mexico are estimated to be from this period, suggesting possible domestication time frame.

8,500 years ago

Domesticated habanero plant specimen that was found at an archaeological site in Peru is estimated to be from this time period.

6,100-6,000 years ago

Time period that most scholars prefer to recognize as the earliest verifiable period for chile pepper domestication with support for Capsicum annuum domestication in Mexico or northern Central America.

A.D. 1200–1450

A carbonized seed dating from this period provides evidence of chile pepper domestication in the American southwest/northwest Mexico.

1492

Christopher Columbus is believed to be one of the first Europeans introduced to chile "peppers" upon his voyage to the New World. Upon encountering the aji chile in the Caribbean, he labeled them as peppers due to their spicy quality being similar to the black peppercorns he sought. At this point, it's most commonly believed that chile peppers only exist within the New World.

1498

Vasco da Gama lands in Calicut, India and is the first to establish an ocean route from Europe and South America around the Cape of Good Hope to India, opening the way for trade and likely the entry of chile peppers into Southeast Asia. Within 30 years of his arrival, at least three varieties of chiles were being grown and traded along the Malabar coast.

1514

Chile pepper seeds arrive in Morocco.

1526

The Ottoman Empire defeats the Kingdom of Hungary and it's eastern region becomes an Ottoman tributary state. During their rule in the 16th-17th centuries, it's believed the Turks introduced the pepper plant to the region, laying the foundation for the future Hungarian paprika industry.

1550

Chile peppers reach western China.

1869

Maker of Tabasco® Pepper Sauce, The McIlhenny Company, ships the first bottles of their signature hot sauce.

1896

Year Texas State Historical Association claims that William Gebhardt began commercially marketing the first chili powder, which he had originally called "Tampico Dust" when he first developed it for his cafe. Others list the commercialization year for his invention as 1894. While others claim it was DeWitt Clinton Pendery in 1890. In any event, everyone seems to agree that it was invented in Texas.

1912

The Scoville scale is developed by the pharmacist Wilbur Scoville as a unit of measurement for the level of pungency (heat) in a chile pepper.

1921

New Mexico State University's first horticulturist, Fabian Garcia, released the New Mexico No.9 pepper, a milder pepper with improved growing consistency, designed to increase consumption. Some credit this development as helping to lay the foundation for the canned and dried chile industry in the US.

1932

Hungarian scientist, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, successfully isolates crystalline vitamin C from paprika peppers. He later wins the Nobel Prize in 1937 for his discoveries related to biological combustion processes, especially in relation to the role of vitamin C.

1971

First annual Hatch Chile Festival is held in Hatch, NM.

1980

David Tran, Vietnamese refugee and founder of Huy Fong Food, begins production and distribution of his Sriracha sauce in the US. It's believed to be inspired by similar sauces commercialized in the 1930s in either Si Racha (Sri Racha) or Bangkok, Thailand, depending on the historical account.

1982

The jalapeno becomes the first chile pepper in space when brought aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia by William Lenoir.

1991

150-200 identified varieties of chile peppers are estimated to exist.

1992

Dr. Paul Bosland founds the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University.

1994

The Red Savina with 570,000 SHU is recognized as the world's hottest pepper by the Guinness World Records.

1995

First annual Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival is held.

2007

Bhut jolokia, or more commonly called the Ghost Pepper, from the Assam region of India, is recognized as the World's Hottest Pepper, clocking in at over 1,000,000 Scoville Units.

2011

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T takes the title of the world's hottest pepper at 1.4 million SHU.

2013

The Carolina Reaper is named by Guinness World Records as the world's hottest pepper.

2017

Creator of the Carolina Reaper, Ed Currie, announces another creation of his, called Pepper X. He claims it's twice as hot as the Carolina Reaper, but this has yet to be confirmed by Guinness World Records.

2021

The Hatch chile (var. NuMex 'Española Improved') becomes the first pepper grown in space. Seeds were delivered to the International Space Station on June 5th, 2021, with the first peppers forming in October. On October 29th, 2021 ("pepper-picking day"), the first peppers were harvested and used in space tacos.