CHILE PEPPERS

Among the traits characteristic of what psychologists classify as a risk-taking personality—alongside riding roller coasters, bungee jumping, and gambling—is the love of hotter-than-hot foods, generally in the form of chile peppers or their enlivening extracts. Whatever mental state such a preference indicates, there is no doubt that a fiery tingle on the tongue keeps the palate from getting bored.

Not to be confused with black pepper, the product of a completely different plant, chiles are members of the nightshade family, along with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and tobacco, all native to the Americas. It was, of course, Christopher Columbus who introduced these New World delicacies to Europe, and who is also the source of the misleading “pepper” moniker. On his voyage in search of a short sea route from Spain to the Spice Islands, he happened upon the hot, berrylike fruits we know as chiles, and mistook their heat for that of the black peppercorns that he sought in the East.

But chiles (of the Capsicum genus) are the only plants that contain capsaicin, a natural alkaloid compound that gives peppers their spark. Unlike black pepper, which burns on the back of the tongue, near the throat, heat from capsaicin is felt on the tip and sides of the tongue. The chile’s unique type of heat is quantified on the so-called Scoville scale, which measures the piquancy based on the amount of capsaicin present. Invented in 1912 by the American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the scale goes from 0 (bell pepper) to upwards of 1.5 million (the Guinness-World-Record-holding Carolina Reaper).

Among the twenty-six known Capsicum species, only five are domesticated. Owing to its popularity and availability, the king of these is the short, stocky, thick-skinned jalapeño, most often picked when still green, although it turns red when fully ripe. Lending its kick to an array of dishes from salsas and stews to nachos, cornbread, and various cheeses (it is the pepper in pepper jack), the jalapeño ranges widely in heat (from about 2,500 to over 10,000 Scoville units) depending on its cultivation conditions and ripeness. Today, there are even jalapeño varieties specially bred for mildness, for those who enjoy the flavor but can’t take the heat.

For more intrepid palates, the chiles of choice would be the squat, lanternlike, bright-orange habanero (C. chinense), the larger, hotter, red Savina habanero, which packs a wallop of 580,000 Scoville units, or the jolly little Scotch bonnet, astonishingly hot and particularly popular in the Caribbean. Easier-on-the-tongue varieties include the Anaheim (C. annuum), a green-to-red, long, flat pepper that ranges in heat from mild to medium, and the related but more pungent cascabels. They range from green to dark red and are generally dried, ground, and incorporated into Mexican sauces, meat dishes, and tamales.

Confusingly, many pepper varieties acquire new names after being dried or otherwise processed. Thus, medium-spiced poblanos (C. annuum)—triangular, darkgreen peppers—become anchos or mulatos when dried, and jalapeños that have been smoked are labeled chipotle. One of the world’s most popular dried peppers is paprika, a red powder that is actually comprised of an assortment of sweet to hot red peppers from the C. annuum cultivar, rather than one distinct pepper.

Whether your tastes run to sweet slices of mild bell pepper; mild, cheesy chile rellenos (stuffed peppers); pungent pickled jalapeños; or fiery hot chile sauces, consider the happy fact that chiles are a health food. A fresh green one is said to have as much vitamin C as six oranges, and one teaspoon of dried red chile powder should contain the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. It’s no wonder that this flavorful New World crop became a worldwide culinary staple.

By Mimi Sheraton (with Kelly Alexander) in "!000 Foods To Eat Before You Die- A Food Lover's Life List", Workman Publishing, New York,2014, excerpts pp.2056-2057. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.