A spice made from dried and ground chipotle peppers, which are jalapeños that have been smoke-dried. It provides moderate heat with a distinctive smoky, slightly sweet flavor and earthy undertones.
Chipotle comes from the Nahuatl word 'chilpoctli,' combining 'chilli' (pepper) and 'poctli' (smoke). This ancient Aztec preservation technique was adopted by Spanish colonizers and eventually spread throughout Mexican cuisine and beyond.
The transformation from fresh jalapeño to chipotle is remarkable - the smoking process concentrates the pepper's sugars while developing over 100 new flavor compounds, completely changing its taste profile from bright and grassy to deep and complex. It takes about 10 pounds of fresh jalapeños to make 1 pound of chipotles!
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