Chili Powder

Chili peppers have been used for millennia by traditional American cultures for their many healthful benefits and as food. Capsicum annuum is native to northern South America and southern North America with a diverse range of fruits that vary in color, size, and spice level. To make our roasted red chili powder, red chilis are slow roasted and then finely ground for a savory flavor with some heat. It is delicious in chili recipes, seasoning rubs, and warming stews.

Chili is the Aztec name for Capsicum annuum. It has been used both as a food and a medicine by Native Americans for over 9000 years. The Capsicum family includes bell peppers, red peppers, paprika, and pimento, but the most famous medicinal members of the family are cayenne and chile. The tasty hot peppers have long been used in many of the world's cuisines, but their greatest use in health comes from, surprisingly, conventional medicine. Capsicum annuum is a member of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

Our roasted red chili powder is typically between 1,000 – 3,000 HU and considered mildly pungent. The pungency of a chili pepper has historically been measured using the Scoville scale, which assigns heat units (SHU or HU) using a subjective assessment to determine the concentration of capsaicin in a pepper. Capsaicin is an active component of chili peppers, responsible for the warming and occasional burning sensations felt. Developed by American pharmacist, Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale remains the most common way of classifying the heat of a pepper, although modern, lab-based testing methods are now being used.

The burning sensation of hot peppers is a reaction of the central nervous system to capsaicin; unlike horseradish, wasabi, garlic, ginger, and mustard, capsaicin only causes the sensation of damage, not real damage to tissues.

Precautions
No known precautions. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only.

very by European explorers.  

The popularity of hot peppers of all varieties spread throughout the world, both as a spice and as an herb. In Chinese, Japanese, Native American and Ayurvedic traditional medicine, cayenne and habanero pepper powders have been used to promote healthy digestion, stimulate appetite, and combat frostbite. Modern research has confirmed the traditional uses of habanero pepper, and many over the counter topical ointments and cream contain capsaicin, the active constituent in habaneros. The amount of capsaicin present in the fruit (which is technically a berry, not a vegetable) of a pepper is a measure of its fiery heat. 

Our habanero powder is typically between 100,000 – 250,000 HU and considered very pungent. The pungency of a chili pepper has historically been measured using the Scoville scale, which assigns heat units (SHU or HU) using a subjective assessment to determine the concentration of capsaicin in a pepper. Capsaicin is an active component of chili peppers, responsible for the warming and occasional burning sensations felt. Developed by American pharmacist, Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale remains the most common way of classifying the heat of a pepper, although modern, lab-based testing methods are now being used. 

Precautions
Use caution when handling particularly around eyes and mucous membranes. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications. 

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only.