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Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas
since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites
located in southwestern Ecuador that chili peppers were domesticated
more than 6000 years ago, and is one of the first cultivated crops in
the Americas that is self-pollinating.
Chili peppers were domesticated at least in different parts of South
and Central America.
Chilies were cultivated around the globe after Columbus Diego
Álvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus' second voyage to the
West Indies in 1493, brought the first chili 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, chili peppers spread rapidly into the Philippines and then
to India, China, Korea and Japan. They were quickly incorporated into
the local cuisines.
There are speculations about pre-Columbian chili peppers in Europe.
In an archaeological dig in the block of St. Botulf in Lund,
archaeologists found a Capsicum frutescens in a layer dating to the
13th century. Hjelmqvist says that Capsicum was described by the
Greek Theophrastus (370-286 BC). He mentions other ancient sources.
The Roman poet Martialis (around the 1st century) described
"Piper crudum" (raw pepper) to be long and containing
seeds. The description of the plants does not fit Black pepper (Piper
nigrum), which grows poorly in European climates.
Health
Chillis are loaded with vitamin A, a potent antioxidant and boost to
the immune system. As the pods mature and darken, high quantities of
vitamin C are gradually replaced with beta carotene and the capsaicin
levels are at their highest. Due to these capsaicin levels, some
believe that eating chillis may have an extra thermic affect,
temporarily speeding up the metabolic rate, hence burning off
calories at a faster rate. Whatever, you certainly do sweat and
actually cool down in hot climates as sweat evaporates. Your nose
runs, your head clears ... you can breath! And with that extra flow
of saliva, the gastric juices also flow. The alkaloids from the
capsaicin stimulate the action of stomach and intestine improving the
whole digestion process!
Beyond soothing gastric wonders and taste delights, the very nature
of fiery capsaicin has been medicinally beneficial down through the
ages and put to use for some chronic health woes. These same heat
inducing properties have a cumulative effect and over time are
believed to alleviate pain when used in transdermal treatments for
arthritis, nerve disorders (neuralgia), shingles and severe burns ...
even cluster headaches. The mucus thinning properties promote
coughing and can act as an expectorant for asthmatic conditions.
Other claims are boosts to the immune system due to the antioxidants,
lowering cholesterol, and blood thinning properties beneficial for
the heart and blood vessels.
Heat
In recent months people's concepts of what constitutes a
"hot" chilli has had to be radically revised upwards from
the Habanero, previously thought to be the hottest.
The latest (September 2009) top eleven measured by Scoville Heat
Units are :
BANGLADESHI NAGA(King Cobra, snake bite) MORICH
Hailing from Bangladesh, the Naga Morich is a close cousin of Bhut
Jolokia, which is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's
hottest chilli. A recent sample of this rare Bangladeshi chilli was
tested(2009) using High-performance liquid chromatography and
registered a mind blowing 1,598,227 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), The
Naga has recently tested at 1,598,227 SHU, half as hot again as the
Bhut! It's fresh, citrusy flavour is often overlooked in view of
their incredible heat.
BHUT (Ghost) JOLOKIA
Bhut Jolokia(Assam), at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), is
nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the chile pepper variety it
replaced as the world's hottest for a time. The Dorset Naga grown in
England is around 800,000 SHU.
RED SAVINA
It was the hottest pepper in the world for over a decade with a fiery
rating of 580,000 Scoville heat units. The Red Savina is a relative
of the Habanero pepper and was cultivated in Walnut, California. The
Savina is sometimes known as the Devils Tongue Pepper
CHOCOLATE HABANERO
This pepper has little to do with the sweet treat we associate
chocolate with, save for the rich colour of its skin. The chocolate
Habanero pepper packs a punch far spicier than regular Habanero, with
425,000 Scoville units in each pepper.
FATALII
Fat wrinkled pods from the Central African Republic. Chillies are an
attractive golden colour and impart their colour and fresh citrusy
flavour into food. This relative of the Habanero is not called
Fatalii for nothing, packing a punch at over 350,000SHU.
ORANGE HABANERO
The name Habanero is Spanish for from Havana. This pepper is used in
cuisine throughout the Yucatan. This popular hot pepper has fruits
which are small and wrinkled. Scoville rating of up to 350,000 SHU
SCOTCH BONNET
Scotch bonnet peppers are very similar to Habanero peppers in both
appearance and heat. With Scoville ratings that top out at 325,000,
Scotch bonnet peppers take their name from their resemblance to the
hats Scottish men wear.
TEPIN
The Tepin, or Chiltepin pepper grows wild in the deserts of Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona and northern Mexico. Its tiny, about the size of
a large pea, but its been measured at 265,000 Scoville units. Tepin
peppers are part of the birds eye variety.
AFRICAN DEVIL
The African Devil is also known as African birdseye, African red
devil or Piri Piri. It is used in cooking throughout Southern Africa,
especially to accompany chicken and fish and gives its name to the
world famous Piri Piri sauce.
JAMAICAN HOT PEPPER
These small, firey chillies grow easily and prolifically on compact
plants. The chilli can be found all around the Caribbean. They mature
in 100 days and have an interesting squat, mushroom shape.
ROCOTO ROJO
Large, extremely pungent chillies with distinctive black seeds from
the Peruvian Andes. They are sometimes known as Manzano, or 'apple'
because of their shape. Rocotos are remarkably cold-tolerant. 150,000SHU.
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