Chipotles can also be made out of what besides Jalapenos?

A chipotle, or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in different forms, such as chipotles en adobo (stewed in adobo sauce).

Jalapeño pepper is one of the most typical ingredients of Mexican cuisine. This chili pepper is consumed at the rate of 7–9 kg per year, per capita. It is mostly consumed fresh but also in different forms such as pickled, dried and smoked. Jalapeño varieties differ in size and heat.

Other chilis can be smoked and dried for chipotle pepper, such as the bell or serrano variety, but smoked red jalapeños are most commonly used.

The technique of smoke-drying jalapeños can be traced back to the early food preservation practices used in Mesoamerica, even prior to the Aztecs. The name comes from the Nahuatl word chīlpoctli (meaning 'smoked chili').

This form of chili was most likely encountered by Christopher Columbus on his trip to the New World, and brought back to Spain, where it later spread to Europe, India and beyond. Their self-preserving composition would have made it possible for them to survive the long journey across several oceans.