| Chilli Pepper |
Article Index for Chilli |
Website Links For Chile |
Information AboutChilli Pepper |
|
Chile peppers and their various Cultivar s originate in the Americas ; they are now grown around the world because they are widely used as Spice s or Vegetable s in Cuisine , and even as Medicine . HISTORY Chile peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since about 7500 BC. They were domesticated there between 5200 and 3400 BC, one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas. Chile peppers are thought to have been domesticated at least five times by prehistoric peoples in different parts of South and Middle America and North America, from Peru in the south to Mexico in the north and parts of Colorado and New Mexico ( Ancient Pueblo Peoples ). Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to encounter them (in the Caribbean ), and called them "peppers" because of their similarity in taste (though not in appearance) with the Old World Peppers of the '' Piper '' genus. Diego Álvarez Chanca , a physician on Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first chile peppers to Spain , and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494. From Mexico , at the time the Spanish colony that controlled commerce with Asia, chile peppers spread rapidly into the Philippines and then to India , China , and Japan with the aid of European sailors. The new spice was quickly incorporated into the local cuisines. (Note: An alternate sequence for chile pepper's spread has the Portuguese picking up the pepper from Spain, and thence to India, as described by Lizzie Collingham in her book Curry 9780195172416, Oxford University Press, February 2006 . The evidence provided is that the chile pepper figures heavily in the cuisine of the Goan region of India, which was the site of a Portuguese colony (e.g. Vindaloo , an Indian evolution of a Portuguese dish). Collingham also describes the journey of Chile peppers from India, through Central Asia and Turkey , to Hungary , where it became the national spice in the form of Paprika .) SPECIES AND CULTIVARS The most common species of chile peppers are:
fruits from Mexico]] Though there are only a few commonly used species, there are many Cultivar s and methods of preparing chile peppers that have different common names for culinary use. Green and red Bell Pepper s, for example, are the same cultivar of ''C. annuum'', the green ones being immature. In the same species are the Jalapeño , the Poblano , ancho (which is a dried poblano), New Mexico , Anaheim , Serrano , and other cultivars. Jamaican s, Scotch Bonnet s, and Habanero s are common varieties of ''C. chinense''. The species ''C. frutescens'' appears as Chiles De Arbol , aji, Pequin , Tabasco , Cayenne , Cherry Pepper s, Malagueta and others. HEAT : ''See Capsaicin for more details'' The substances that gives chile peppers their heat is Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called ''capsaicinoids''. Capsaicin is the primary ingredient in Pepper Spray . The "heat" of chile peppers is measured in Scoville Unit s. Bell Pepper s rank at zero Scoville units, jalapeños at 3,000–6,000 Scoville units, and habaneros at 300,000 Scoville units. The record for the highest number of Scoville units in a chile pepper is assigned by the Guinness Book Of Records to the Red Savina Habanero , measuring 577,000 units. However, a recent report was made of a pepper from India called the Naga Jolokia measuring at 855,000 Scoville units. Both the Red Savina and the Naga Jolokia claims are disputed as to their validity, and lack independent verification 1. As of April 2006 a report has been made of the Dorset Naga, a variety of the Naga Jolokia pepper cultivated exclusively by the Peppers by Post company in Dorset, England. They claim a lab used by the American Spice Trade Association measured their pepper at 923,000 SHU 2. For reference, pure capsaicin rates at 15,000,000 Scoville units. CUISINE The fruit is eaten cooked or raw for its fiery hot flavor which is concentrated along the top of the pod. The stem end of the pod has glands which produce the capsaicin, which then flows down through the pod. Removing the seeds(citation needed) and inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a pod. Well-known dishes with a strong chile flavor are Mexican Salsa s, Tex-Mex Chili Con Carne , and Indian Vindaloo s and other curries. Chile Powder is a Spice made of the dried ground chiles, usually of the Mexican ''chile ancho'' variety, but with small amounts of cayenne added for heat, while Chili Powder is composed of dried ground chile peppers, cumin, garlic and oregano. Bottled hot sauces such as Tabasco Sauce are made from chiles such as the cayenne (not, oddly, from tabasco peppers), which may also be fermented. Chipotles are dried, smoked chiles used to flavor stews and sauces. While the term refers to any smoked chile, most commercial chipotles are made from red jalapeños. Indonesian , India n, Szechuan and Thai cuisines are particularly associated with the chile pepper, although the plant was unknown in Asia until Europeans introduced it there. Sambal is dipping sauce made from chile peppers with any other ingredients such as garlic, onion, shallots, salt, vinegar and sugar. It is very popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. POPULARITY Chile peppers are popular in food. They are rich in Vitamin C and are believed to have many beneficial effects on health. The pain caused by capsaicin stimulates the brain to produce Endorphin s, natural Opioid s which act as Analgesic s and produce a sense of well-being. Psychologist Paul Rozin suggests that eating chiles is an example of a "constrained risk" like riding a Roller Coaster , in which extreme sensations like pain and fear can be enjoyed because individuals know that these sensations are not actually harmful. Bird s do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin as Mammal s, as capsaicin acts on a specific nerve receptor in mammals, and avian nervous systems are rather different. Chile peppers are in fact a favorite food of many birds living in the chile peppers' natural range. The flesh of the peppers provides the birds with a nutritious meal rich in Vitamin C . In return, the Seed s of the peppers are distributed by the birds, as they drop the seeds while eating the pods or the seeds pass through the Digestive Tract unharmed. This relationship is theorized to have promoted the Evolution of the protective capsaicin. SPELLING AND USAGE The three primary spellings used are ''chile'', ''chili'', and ''chilli'', all of which are recognized by dictionaries.
The name of this plant bears no relation to Chile , the country, which is named after the Quechua ''chin'' ("cold"), ''tchili'' ("snow"), or ''chilli'' ("where the land ends"). Chile is one of the Spanish-speaking countries where chiles are known as ''ají'' (meaning "hot" -for peppers, in Turkish). There is some disagreement about whether it is proper to use the word "pepper" when discussing chile peppers because "pepper" refers to the genus Piper , not Capsicum. Despite this dispute, English dictionaries support a sense of ''pepper'' referring to Capsicum, such as the Oxford English Dictionary (sense 2b of ''pepper'') and Merriam-Webster {Link without Title} . Furthermore, the word "pepper" is commonly used in the botanical and culinary fields in the names of different types of chile peppers. NUTRITIONAL VALUE Red chiles are very rich in Vitamin C , and rich in Provitamin A . Yellow and especially green chiles (which are essentially unripe fruit) contain a considerably lower amount of both substances. In addition, peppers are a good source of most B Vitamins , and Vitamin B6 in particular. They are very high in Potassium and high in Magnesium and Iron . Their high vitamin C content can also substantially increase the uptake of non-heme iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as Bean s and Grain s. SEE ALSO FOOTNOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|