What is the difference between chili and chile?
Chili and chile are both the pungent fruit of the capsicum, also called chile pepper or chili pepper. But chili is a shortening of chili con carne, a ground beef dish that incorporates chili powder or chili peppers and was first noted in 1857. And Chile, capitalized, is a country. We do not actually use the original English form, though, which was chilli or chilly (which are used in British English) – but now use the Spanish words. Chiles are reduced to powder to make cayenne pepper.
