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| Capsicum | ||||||||||||||
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C. annuum (many cultivars)
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Capsicum is a genus of plants related to the tomato in the nightshade family, whose fruit is used as a spice, vegetable, and medicine. Cultivated since prehistoric times in Peru and Mexico, it was discovered in the Caribbean by Columbus and named a "pepper" because of its similarity with the Old World peppers of the Piper genus. Diego Alvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first capsicums to Spain, and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494.
The fruit has many names. Hot varieties are called chiles (also chilis, chillies, chili peppers, chile peppers and hot peppers) from Nahuatl chilli (there is no etymological relation to Chile, the country, which is named after the Quechua chin "cold", tchili "snow", or chilli "where the land ends"). Varieties lacking heat are called capsicums, bell peppers, sweet peppers or just peppers (there is no botanical relationship with black pepper, Piper nigrum, nor with Szechuan pepper).
The fruit is boxlike, conical, or spherical and filled with air. It has 2 to 4 vertical ribs on the inside, which may carry seeds; but the bulk of the seeds are on a dome at the stem end. Capsicums vary in horticulturally ripe colour and may be green, yellow, orange, bright red, lavender, brownish purple, or other colors depending on variety and on what stage of botanical ripeness is considered best for use.
Only a handful of the many species of Capsicum are cultivated, but there are many cultivars and methods of preparation that have different common names. C. annuum includes bell peppers, pimentos, paprika, and poblano, jalapeño, Anaheim, New Mexico, and Serrano chiles; C. frutescens includes cayenne, tabasco, arbol, aji, pequin and cherry chiles; C. chinense includes the hottest chiles such as habaneros (also called Scotch bonnets); C. pubescens includes the South American rocoto; and C. baccatum includes the chiltepin.
The substances that give chiles their heat are the lipophile alkaloid capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and four related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. Each capsaicinoid has a different effect on the mouth, and variation in the proportions of these chemical is responsible for the differing sensations produced by different varieties. Capsaicin causes pain and inflammation if consumed to excess, and can even burn the skin on contact in high concentrations (habaneros, for example, are routinely picked with gloves). It is also the primary ingredient in pepper spray, which is used as a defensive weapon. The "heat" of chiles is measured in Scoville units. Bell peppers 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 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 chile 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.
The hot flavor of chiles is concentrated at the stem end of the fruit, where the white placental tissue produces capsaicin, which then flows downwards. Removing the seeds and inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a chile.
Birds do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin as mammals, as capsaicin acts on a specific nerve receptor in mammals, and avian nervous systems are rather different. Chiles are in fact a favorite food of many birds living in the chiles' natural range. The fruit provides the birds with nutritious meal rich in vitamin C. In return, the seeds 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. It is interesting to note that the chemical used to give an artificial grape flavoring to food items such as grape soda does have a similar effect on birds as capsaicin has on humans.
Bell peppers are eaten raw or cooked; they are suitable for stuffing. Capsicums of all kinds can be smoked for preservation: for example, smoked ripe jalapeños are called chipotles and smoked poblanos are called anchos. The spices paprika and chile powder are made either by drying fruits in the sun and grinding them, or pulping them, baking the pulp, and grinding the resulting cake. Bottled hot sauces such as Tabasco sauce are made from chiles such as the cayenne (not, oddly, from the tabasco), which may also be fermented.
Indian, Szechuan, Thai, and Indonesian cuisines are particularly associated with the chile, although the plant was unknown in Asia until Europeans introduced it there. In the Americas the chile is most associated with Mexican food, where it is used in salsa, mole and many other dishes.
Why are chiles so popular in food, despite the pain and irritation they bring? Capsaicin has an antibacterial effect, so food cooked with chiles keeps for longer without spoiling. Chiles 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 endorphins, natural opioids which act as analgesics 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 we know they are not actually harmful.
Chiles are of great importance in Native American medicine, and capsaicin is used in topical preparations as a circulatory stimulant and pain reliever.
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