Épices de Cru Chilli Chilhuacle Negro

In a nutshell: A very ancient, rare chilli with strong notes of cocoa, tobacco and dry fruit.

Moderately hot, this excellent chilli is the cornerstone of authentic Oaxacan mole negro. This rare chilli grows only in the Cañada valley in Oaxaca, a designated UNESCO ecological zone. Chilhuacle means ‘ancient chile’ in Nahualt, the language of the Aztec peoples spoken throughout the region a half century ago. A chilli well worth discovering. Chilhuacles are slowly falling out of favour and disappearing due to their high production costs.

Heat Rating 5/10

Details 25g

About Épices de Cru
Épices de Cru began in 1982 as a catering partnership between Philippe and Ethné de Vienne. Their mission was a kind of “cooking pot anthropology:” learning the secrets of family cooking around the world and applying these techniques to the needs of hungry Montrealers. The secret, they learned, was spices. Over the last two decades, Philippe and Ethné have searched for the world’s best spices, accompanied by their children, Marika and Arik. The de Viennes believe in direct sourcing spices: visiting growing regions, spending time with growers, and developing personal relationships that last decades. In 2004, they officially opened their first spice shop in Montreal’s fantastic Jean Talon market– it’s since become a mecca for foodies from all over the world. I first visited in 2008 and have been buying and using their spices on a regular basis ever since that first exciting visit. They steadfastly maintain that they do nothing original, only facilitating the exchange of culinary common sense from one place to another. But, what they do is simply quite brilliant - by providing us with the finest quality ingredients, and their superb spice mixes, we can all experiment with unusual spices and recreate delicious recipes from around the world.