Oh Chili Pepper, Where have you been all my Life?…
Chili Pepper, Spicy Peppers, Hot Peppers...whatever you call them, the timeless fact is, we are enamored with them!
The History of the Beloved Chili Pepper
For more than 8,000 years, people have been finding creative ways to integrate the Chili Pepper into our diets. We crave the sensation of spice and the “heat” that only the Chili Pepper can provide.
7000-6000BC:
The first known records of the Chili Pepper were found by Archaeologists at burial sites in Peru.
3991 BC:
Chili Peppers are known to have been “domesticated” and used to season foods in Central America and, specifically, in SW Ecuador.
1400-400BC:
The Olmecs, Totonacas and Huaxtecas developed an agriculture based on corn, beans, squash, wild animals and fish. They seasoned their foods with Chili Peppers, herbs and other spices.
The Olmecs were an ancient civilization living in south-central Mexico
370-286BC:
The Greek philosopher, Theophrastus, wrote about Capsicum in one of his 200 botanical treatise.
Theophrastus wrote so extensively on the nature of plants and his knowledge was so remarkable that he is often referred to as the father of botany.
40-100:
Roman poet Martialis known best for his clever Epigrams, described the “Piper Crudum” or Raw Pepper. His description was of a long pepper containing seeds. This description does not fit a description of the Black Pepper and has been interpreted as referring to a Chili Pepper.
400:
The Ancient Aztecs and Mayans were the first known civilizations to serve Hot Chocolate. They flavored it, not with sugar, but with Chili Pepper!
Try it!
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 1 red chili pepper, split with seeds removed
- 1 cinnamon stick, around 3-4″
- 1/2 oz chocolate (bittersweet)
- Simmer milk in a saucepan with vanilla bean, cinnamon and chili. Heat through for about a minute.
- Whisk in grated chocolate, and continue to simmer until melted
- Remove from heat and let ’steep’ for another 10 minutes.
- Strain out the spices and serve.
Chili Pepper Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Serves 2.
1493:
Christopher Columbus encountered Chili Peppers in the Caribbean and called them “peppers” because of their similarity in taste (not appearance) to the Old World Peppers (genus: piper).
A physician on Columbus’ Voyage by the name of Diego Alvarex Chanca, brought the first Chili Peppers to Spain.
Chilis were very popular to grow in monastery gardens.
Portuguese traders brought the Peppers to many countries including, Persia, India and Indonesia.
1494:
Physician Diego Alvarex Chanca wrote about and published medicinal effects of Chilis he also described them as a principal food of the “Native Americans” and compared them to the Turnip.
1912:
In 1912, Wilbur L. Scoville, a pharmacist, developed the first modern technique for measuring a pepper’s “heat”.
The Scoville Heat Unit is still used as a numerical way to compare pepper’s bite.
The Scoville Scale gives a great comparison of well known and rare Peppers
Scoville’s methods are slowly being replaced by a new method of measuring pungency known as High Pressure Liquid Chromatography.
1956:
Newsweek magazine published a story on a pepper-eating contest held near the home of the famous Tabasco sauce, in the Bayou Teche country of Louisiana.
The article reported the Jalapeño pepper to be the “the hottest pepper known.” It stated the jalapeño is “more fiery than the green Tabasco or red cayenne.”
1987:
The Cayenne pepper is shown to be an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and dietary fiber.
1990
The Habanero takes the place of the Jalapeno as the pepper with the title of “The Hottest Pepper on Earth”.
1994 – 1996:
Red Savina named “The Hottest Pepper” by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The Red Savina is a cultivar of the Habanero that was selectively bred in Walnut, California.
2006:
Study finds Tarantula venom to have chemicals that target the same pain receptors as Capsicum, the substance in Chili Peppers that gives them their “bite”.
2007-Present:
The Naga Jolokia- also known as the Bhot Jolokia, Dorset Naga, Naga Morich, Ghost Pepper and King Cobra Chili- officially replaced the Red Savina as the Hottest Chili in the World by Guinness World Records.
As we continue our love affair with discovering how “hot” the Pepper can get, mother nature seems to continue to provide with surprise after surprise!
Capsicum was not known in Europe before Columbus brought them back from the Americas. How can you tell us with a straight face that some ancient Greek philosopher wrote about them?
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-479.html#HISTORY
Steve, thanks so much for your comment and the great link. It appears, based on the research that I’ve done, that the pepper may have made an appearance in Greece prior to it’s introduction to Europe by Diego Alvarex Chanca (from Columbus’ voyage)-
“In 1995, archaeobotanist Hakon Hjelmqvist published an article in Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift presenting evidence for the presence of chili peppers, a New World crop, in Europe in the pre-Columbian era.[14] According to Hjelmqvist, archaeologists at a dig in St Botulf in Lund found a Capsicum frutescens in a layer from the 13th century. Hjelmqvist thought it came from Asia. Hjelmqvist also claims that Capsicum was described by the Greek Theophrastus (370–286 BCE) in his Historia Plantarum, and in other sources. Around the first century CE, the Roman poet Martialis (Martial) described “Piperve crudum” (raw pepper) in Liber XI, XVIII, but describes them as long and containing seeds, a description which seems to fit chili peppers.”
http://translated.by/you/pre-columbian-trans-oceanic-contact/original/
Here are a few other links you may find interesting:
http://www.answers.com/topic/long-pepper-1
http://exportadoraguzman.com/Chili-Pepper.html
I’m so interested to hear your thoughts…
The quality of the info is what keeps me on this site, thanks!
Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Thanks Emily and same to you!
[...] we explored in a previous post about the History of The Chili Pepper there are many Chili Peppers that have been revered through much of history.The world market demand [...]
Great post, very comprehensive and good response to the the first commenter!