Christopher Columbus, from his log for January 15, 1493.
Quoted in: Jack Turner. 2005. Spice: The History of a Temptation. Vintage Books: New York, p. 11. See also: Clements R. Markham. 1893. The journal of Christopher Columbus (during his first voyage, 1492-93) and documents relating to the voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real. Hakluyt Society: London, p. 164.
Just a few quick notes on my favorite spice/food/staff of life -- chiles.
There are five cultivated species: Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens, and literally thousands of cultivated varieties:
- Capsicum annuum (includes bell peppers, wax peppers, cayenne peppers, jalapeños, etc.)
- Capsicum frutescens (includes Brazilian malagueta pepper [NOT "melegueta pepper," which is Aframomum melegueta or "grains of paradise"], tabasco peppers etc.)
- Capsicum chinense (includes habanero, Scotch bonnet peppers, naga peppers, Datil peppers, etc.)
- Capsicum pubescens (includes rocoto peppers, manzano peppers, etc.)
- Capsicum baccatum (includes aji amarillo peppers, peppadew peppers, etc.)
Aji amarillo peppers, aji limo peppers, aji panca peppers, Aleppo peppers, Anaheim peppers, banana peppers, bell peppers, bird’s eye peppers, Bishop’s Crown peppers, cascabel peppers, cayenne peppers, cherry peppers, chilaca peppers, chile de arbol, chiltepin peppers, coronado peppers, Cubanelle peppers, datil peppers, Dundicut peppers, ghost peppers, guajillo peppers, hidalgo peppers, jalapeño peppers, Madame Jeanette peppers, malagueta peppers, manzano peppers, mirasol peppers, mulato peppers, Naga Jolokia peppers, Naga Viper peppers, paprika, Peppadew peppers, pepperoncini peppers, piri piri peppers, poblano peppers, rocotillo peppers, Sandia peppers, Santa Fe Grande peppers, santaka peppers, Scotch bonnet peppers, shipkas peppers, Sonora peppers, Tabasco peppers, Tabiche peppers, Thai peppers, Tien Tsin peppers, and Trinidad perfume peppers, to name a few.All chiles are members of the Nightshade family (more formally, the Solanaceae). Oddly enough, although the Capsicums are all New World plants, the Solanaceae are global in their distribution. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, chiles, petunias, tobacco, and about 3,000 other species are all Solanums. It appears that coffee (Coffea) is distantly related to the Solanaceae (but not recently -- the families separated about 125 million years ago).
Chiles are New World plants (despite the fact that one of the more prominent species is called "Capsicum chinense," apparently because of an error made by Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin [aka Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin] in 1776). And while there may be only five cultivated species, there are a lot more that are consumed, especially in South America, including Capsicum cardenasii, C. chacoense, C. eximium, C. flexuosum, C. mirabile, and several dozen others.
Exactly where chiles originated is a bit unclear. Most sources put the source area in Bolivia, but others put it in Mexico or Central America; a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (April 29, 2014) suggests east-central Mexico (specifically the Valley of Tehuacán). Others split the difference, suggesting that some species (C. annum) were domesticated in Mexico or Central America; C. chinense in the Amazon basin; and C. baccatum and C. pubescens (and maybe C. frutescens) in the Andes or possibly further south.
Wherever they originated, what most folks focus on is the "heat" -- the quantity of capsaicin (the chemical formula is 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide, in case you're interested) and related compounds (capsaicinoids) in chiles. Unfortunately, measuring chile's hotness isn't straightforward. While the Scoville scale (developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912) is commonly used, it's quite subjective. There is an alternative scale developed by the American Spice Trade Association which relies on chromatography, but it's not widely used (a rule of thumb is that one ASTA pungency unit equals 15 Scoville units, but it's not very accurate).
Mild peppers (bell peppers, for example) have Scoville scores as low as zero; the hottest peppers (all cultivars of C. chinense, and all with Scoville scores of more than one million) include such cheerfully named varieties as Komodo Dragon Chili Pepper, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Naga Viper pepper, Infinity Chilli, Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper, Bedfordshire Super Naga, Spanish Naga Chili, and Carolina Reaper (also known as HP22B), the current record holder with a Scoville score of more than two million units.
(As a side note -- the hottest pepper I can find that is not a cultivar of C. chinense is the so-called "bird's eye pepper" or Thai chile, which is a C. annum cultivar, and has a Scoville rating of up to 250,000 units.)
In case you're curious, the Carolina Reaper was developed by Mr. Ed Currie, the proprietor of the PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina (http://puckerbuttpeppercompany.com/). You can buy seeds, if you like, and Mr. Currie has kindly included this piece of information:
"If you are 'stupit' enough to eat this pepper whole you may wish to enter the doors of death willingly! Be very, very careful using this pepper. Those who don't fear the Reaper are fools."Why do the Capsicums produce capsaicinoids? Probably to fight off mammals, insects and fungi. Why do we like to eat hot food? Ah, there's a question that has induced people to spout ridiculous amounts of psychobabble. Idiotic reasons include a desire for vitamin C or to induce sweating (people need vitamin C, but they don't necessarily desire it [people desire food, they don't desire L-ascorbic acid]; sweating -- especially in tropical climates -- isn't something you have to work hard to achieve). Psychological reasons that have been suggested include the idea that we like the sensation of danger (a bit like watching horror movies); the phrase "benign masochism" has been used, and make of that what you will.
It's estimated that something like a third of humanity eats chiles (at least a little bit) on a daily basis. It's a bit hard to believe that's because of a masochistic love of pain. I think people just enjoy the sensation the same way they enjoy the spicy flavors of thing like horseradish (spicy molecule: allyl isothiocyanate) and mustard (spicy molecules: allyl isothiocyanate and 4-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate) and black pepper (spicy molecule: piperine). Oddly enough, I don't recall seeing a lot of discussion about why people like mustard.
Care for a spicy recipe? Here's my fajita mix:
Spice mixture
- 1 tablespoon New Mexico chile (or California chile, paprika, or any other moderate chile)
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle (smoked jalapeno)
- 1/2 teaspoon adobo (a mixture of garlic, onion, black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or 1/4 teaspoon chile flakes)
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano (or Mexican oregano)
3-4 tablespoons oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
12-24 grape tomatoes, sliced in half (don't use larger tomatoes, except as garnish)
8-16 ounces chicken or beef, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
Lime juice, cilantro, avocado, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa picante, etc.
Tortillas (corn or flour, as you prefer)
Combine all the herbs and spices; set aside.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, peppers and tomatoes, and saute 5 minutes until soft and just beginning to caramelize. Add the chicken or beef strips. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nicely browned (the onion, peppers and tomatoes will be very brown by this time -- a little char never hurt anybody).
Carefully stir in the spice blend. You may need to add another tablespoon of oil to help make sure everything is properly blended. Turn off the heat. Let the fajitas sit for about 5 minutes.
Heat the tortillas (steam them, microwave them, fry them -- whatever you like). Fill the tortillas and garnish. Eat over the sink.
This produces a tasty burn. Serves one (if you're me).
https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-479.html; https://solgenomics.net/about/about_solanaceae.pl; http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/salts/scoville.asp; http://www.thechileman.org/guide_species.php; http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2012/issue131b/; http://www.pnas.org/content/111/17/6165.full; http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-origins-chili-pepper-mexico-01870.html; http://www.junglerain.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=77; https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/sep/14/chilli-hot-food; http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/on-capsaicin-why-do-we-eat-love-hot-peppers/; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811195315.htm; http://nautil.us/issue/35/boundaries/why-revolutionaries-love-spicy-food
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