Chipotle
A
chipotle, or
chilpotle, which comes from the Nahuatl word
chilpoctli, is a smoke-dried jalapeño. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex. Varieties of jalapeño vary in size and heat. In Mexico, the jalapeño is also known as the
cuaresmeño and
gordo. Until recently, chipotles were largely found in the markets of central and southern Mexico. As Mexican food became more popular abroad, especially in the United States and Canada, jalapeño production and processing began to expand into northern Mexico to serve the southwestern United States, and eventually processing occurred in the United States and other places such as China. Its heat is similar to that of the Espelette pepper, jalapeño, Guajillo chili, Hungarian wax pepper, New Mexican varieties of the Anaheim pepper, and Tabasco sauce.