by Dave Dewitt
CHILE PEPPERS
Dave DeWitt
CHILE
PEPPERS
A Global History
University of New Mexico PressAlbuquerque
© 2020 by Dave DeWitt
All rights reserved. Published 2020
Printed in the United States of America
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Names | DeWitt, Dave, author.
Title | Chile peppers: a global history / Dave DeWitt.
Description | Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2020.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers | LCCN 2020008831 (print)
LCCN 2020008832 (e-book)
ISBN 9780826361806 (paperback)
ISBN 9780826361813 (e-book)
Subjects | LCSH: Hot peppers—History.
Cooking (Hot peppers)
Classification | LCC SB307.P4 D487 2020 (print)
LCC SB307.P4 (e-book)
DDC 633.8/4—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020008831
LC e-book record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020008832
Cover illustration | The peperoncini of Italy.
Photograph by Harald Zoschke. Used with permission.
Design | Mindy Basinger Hill
THIS BOOK IS FOR NANCY GERLACH, MY COAUTHOR OF 10 BOOKS, AND FOR THE MEMORY OF HER LATE HUSBAND AND MY GOOD FRIEND, JEFFREY GERLACH.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
oneTHE DOMESTICATION OF THE WILD CHILE
twoNEW WORLD CHILE CUISINES, PART 1: THE CARIBBEAN
threeNEW WORLD CHILE CUISINES, PART 2: LATIN AMERICA
fourTHE SPICY US STATES
fivePAPRIKA AND EUROPE
sixAFRICA LOVES THE BIRD’S EYE
sevenTHE COUNTRY OF CURRIES
eightRECORD HEAT IN ASIA
nineHOT MEANS HEALTHY
tenCHILES BECOME LEGENDARY
SOURCES
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Hundreds of people from all over the world have helped with this project over many years. In addition to the individuals mentioned in the text of this book, the following people were particularly helpful: Mary Jane Barnes, Marlin Bensinger, Paul Bosland, Pat and Dominique Chapman, Marco Del Freo, Nancy and Jeff Gerlach, Antonio Heras, Patrick Holian, Sharon Hudgins, Stephen Hull, Gianluca Luisi, Lois Manno, José Marmolejo, Scott Mendel, Robert Spiegel, Richard Sterling, Mary Jane Wilan, and Harald and Renate Zoschke.
INTRODUCTION
I have been writing this book for 44 years, and I’m not done yet, despite the fact that you’re holding it in your hands. That’s because my research on the subjects of chile peppers and fiery foods never ends. Just like the archaeological discoveries at Cerén that are documented in chapter 1, some new disclosure about chile peppers will crop up, and, by the sheer force of my interest, I’ll compulsively write about it. This is my writing niche; it’s what I do and why I’m called the Pope of Peppers.
Over those 44 years, I’ve written, sometimes with coauthors, 42 published books on chile peppers and fiery foods, and hundreds of articles published in magazines and on blogs and websites. I’ve chosen some of my best writing from past projects for this book and also added new material that’s previously unpublished in print form. So this book is partly a culinary history and partly a memoir about my trips around the world to research chile usage in many different cuisines.
Although this book is not designed to be a cookbook, I have selected several representative recipes for each chapter so readers can create the flavors they are reading about in their own kitchens. If readers want more recipes, I have thousands posted on FieryFoodsCentral.com, and there’s always my book, 1,001 Best Hot & Spicy Recipes.
Please remember that I am writing about the past, not the present, and that things have changed over the decades. Some of the people mentioned in this book are no longer with us, unfortunately, but fond memories of them linger. Some of the countries my wife and I explored are edgy to the point of being dangerous in certain circumstances, so be careful in all the countries mentioned in this book, and especially when visiting Mexico, Jamaica, and South Africa. Travelers are safer if they stay in designated tourist areas and should always try to find locals as guides, even if they have to be hired. That’s the way Mary Jane and I have traveled over all these years and we’ve never had any problems at all.
We were warned about pickpockets in Rome, narcotraficantes in Mexico, Asian gangs in Cabramatta, Australia, thieves in Belize, and muggers in every large city, but by following a few basic rules, none of the bad guys bothered us. Hang with the locals; don’t try to buy any illegal drugs; don’t get drunk; don’t be loud or call attention to yourself; but do use credit cards; and avoid showing a lot of cash. We had a street-smart guide named Tony in Jamaica who drove us all over the island, and I told him to take us only to restaurants where there were no white faces. “No problem, mon,” he said, and he was right—there were none because he was with us. One of our black guides in South Africa was shocked when we invited him to have lunch with us; in Barbados, the same thing was a common occurrence. So be adaptable and go with the flow. If offered a choice between an American breakfast and a local one, choose the latter. Smile a lot wherever you travel, and don’t be the stereotyped “ugly American.”
THE FIVE DOMESTICATED CAPSICUM SPECIES
Because the species names of the Capsicum genus are mentioned so often in this book, I’m placing the definitions here for quick and easy reference.
annuumThe name means annual, which of course is inaccurate as chiles are perennials in climates where there are no freezes. The is the most-grown species in the world in both gardening and agriculture, and its varieties are commonly known all over the world. The bells, jalapeños, cayennes, anchos, serranos, New Mexicans, paprikas, and ornamentals are all of the annuum species.
Serrano chiles in the author’s garden. Photograph by Dave DeWitt.
baccatumThe species name means berry-like, and it is native to South America, where the varieties are commonly called “ají.” There are at least two wild forms (varieties baccatum and microcarpum) and many domesticated forms. The domesticated ajís have a great diversity of pod shape and size, ranging from short, pointed pods borne erect to long, pendant pods resembling the New Mexican varieties. They are cultivated in most South American countries.
Ají amarillo in the author’s garden. Photograph by Dave DeWitt.
chinenseThis species was misnamed Capsicum chinense in 1776 by Nikolaus von Jacquin, a Dutch physician who collected plants in the Caribbean for Emperor Francis I from 1754 to 1759. Jacquin, who first described the species as “chinense” in his work Hortus botanicus vindobonensis , wrote, mysteriously, “I have taken the plant’s name from its homeland.” He was dead wrong, of course—all capsicums are New World plants. Many people, including myself, believe that the species name should be changed to Capsicum cheiro , which would mean “perfumed pepper,” because cheiro is Portuguese for aroma or smell. All chinense have a unique aroma similar to apricots. Habaneros and all the superhots, including the ‘Carolina Reaper,’ the hottest Capsicum in the world, belong to this South American and Caribbean species.
Bolivian red habanero in the author’s garden. Photograph by Dave DeWitt
frutescensTabascos are the most commonly known peppers in the frutescens species and the name means shrub-like. There is very little pod diversity, and the Brazilian malagueta variety looks the same as a Tabasco. Tabascos are grown in Central and South America to make the famous sauce of the same name.
Malagueta pepper in the author’s garden. Photograph by Dave DeWitt
pubes
censThis is the most obscure Capsicum species and it, too, has little or no pod diversity. It is the only species with black seeds, and its name means hairy, an allusion to its fuzzy leaves. The pods resemble small apples, hence the common name manzano in Mexico. In South America they are commonly called rocotos. This species has no wild form, and it is grown in the Andes and also in Oaxaca, Mexico. There are two forms, red and yellow (canarios), and the pods are quite hot, 30,000–50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU).
Rocoto chile. Photograph by Dave DeWitt
Garden terraces, Machu Picchu, Peru. Potatoes and early forms of chile peppers were grown on the terraces. Photograph by Mark Blumenthal (2005). Wikimedia. GNU Free Documentation License.
one
THE DOMESTICATION OF THE WILD CHILE
For more than 10,000 years, humans have been fascinated by a seemingly innocuous plant with bright-colored fruits that bite back when bitten. Although the chile pepper has risen in our estimation from lowly weed to celebrity spice, the secrets of its domestication, its discovery by Europeans, and its subsequent spread around the world are still being uncovered. Often mistakenly thought to be of African or Indian origin, chile peppers are absolutely American; along with corn, squash, potatoes, and beans, they are among the earliest and most important plants domesticated by mankind in the New World.
THE TOLERATED WEED
According to botanist Barbara Pickersgill, the genus Capsicum, to which all chiles belong, originated in the remote geologic past in an area bordered by the mountains of southern Brazil to the east, by Bolivia to the west, and by Paraguay and northern Argentina to the south. Not only does this location have the greatest concentration of wild species of chiles in the world, but here, and only here, grow representatives of all the major domesticated species within the genus. Another chile botanist, W. Hardy Eshbaugh, believes that the location for the origin of chile peppers was further east, in central Bolivia along the Rio Grande.
Scientists are not certain about the exact time frame or the method for the spread of both wild and domesticated species from the southern Brazil-Bolivia area, but they suspect that birds were primarily responsible. The wild chiles (like their undomesticated cousin of today, the chiltepín) had erect, red fruits that were quite pungent and were very attractive to various species of birds that ate the whole pods.
The seeds of those pods passed through their digestive tracts intact and were deposited on the ground encased in a perfect fertilizer. In this manner, chiles spread all over South and Central America long before the first Asian tribes moved east and settled the New World.
When humans arrived in the Americas between 15,000 and 25,000 years ago, about 25 species of the genus Capsicum existed in South America. Five of these species were later domesticated; however, some of the other wild species were and still are occasionally utilized. Two of the five domesticated species of chiles, C. baccatum and C. pubescens , never migrated beyond South America. Baccatum , known as “ají,” merely extended its range from southern Brazil west to the Pacific Ocean and became a domesticated chile of choice in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Likewise, C. pubescens left Brazil to be domesticated in the Andes, where it is known as rocoto. Its range today is primarily in the higher elevations of Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, although it was introduced during historical times into mountainous areas of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.
African grey parrot munching on a pepper pod. Photograph by Chel Beeson. Work for hire.
Three other Capsicum species that were later domesticated are annuum, chinense , and frutescens. These closely related species shared a mutual ancestral gene pool and are known to botanists as the annuum-chinense-frutescens complex. They seem to have sprung up in the wilds of Colombia and later migrated individually to Central America and Amazonia. These three species were all in place when humans arrived on the scene, and, apparently, each type was domesticated independently—annuum in Mexico, chinense in Amazonia (and possibly Peru), and frutescens in southern Central America. These three species have become the most commercially important chiles, and the story of their domestication and further spread is revealed in the archaeological record.
The earliest evidence of chile peppers in the human diet is from Mexico, where archaeologist R. S. MacNeish discovered chile seeds dating from about 7500 BC during his excavations at Tamaulipas and Tehuacán. This find and an intact pod from Peru’s Guitarrero Cave dated 6500 BC seem to indicate that chiles were under cultivation approximately ten 10,000 years ago.
However, that date is extremely early for crop domestication and some experts suggest that these specimens are chiles that were harvested in the wild rather than cultivated by man. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was also found in the same excavation levels, and scientists cannot be certain if they were wild or domesticated varieties. Experts are certain, however, that chile peppers were domesticated by at least 3300 BC.
Ethnobotanists—scientists who study the relationship of plants to mankind—have theorized that during the domestication process, chiles were first accepted as “tolerated weeds.” They were not cultivated but rather collected in the wild when the fruits were ripe. The wild forms had erect fruits that were deciduous, meaning that they separated easily from the calyx and fell to the ground. During the domestication process, whether consciously or unconsciously, early Indian farmers selected seeds from plants with larger, nondeciduous, and pendant fruits.
The reasons for these selection criteria are a greater yield from each plant and protection of the pods from chile-hungry birds. The larger the pod, the greater will be its tendency to become pendant rather than to remain erect. Thus the pods became hidden amid the leaves and did not protrude above them as beacons for birds. The selection of varieties with the tendency to be nondeciduous ensured that the pods remained on the plant until fully ripe and thus were resistant to dropping off as a result of wind or physical contact. The domesticated chiles gradually lost their natural means of seed dispersal by birds and became dependent upon human intervention for their continued existence. Because chiles cross-pollinate, hundreds of varieties of the five domesticated chiles developed over thousands of years. The color, size, and shape of the pods of these domesticated forms varied enormously. Ripe fruits could be red, orange, brown, yellow, or white. Their shapes could be round, conic, elongate, oblate, or bell-like, and their size could vary from the tiny fruits of chiltepíns or Tabascos to the large pods of the anchos and New Mexican varieties. However, no matter what the size or shape of the pods, they were readily adopted into the customs and cuisines of all the major civilizations of the New World.
PRE-COLUMBIAN CHILE CUSTOMS AND KITCHENS
Chiles were the major spice of the New World and played a role similar to that of black pepper in the Old World; ancient New World cultures from Mexico to South America combined the pungent pods with every conceivable meat and vegetable. Our knowledge of the pre-Columbian culinary uses of chile peppers is derived from many sources: archaeological finds, Indian artifacts and illustrations of the period, Spanish and Portuguese explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, botanical observations, and studies of the cooking methods of the modern descendants of the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs.
This examination of the culinary uses of chiles begins in one of the major regions where they were first cultivated, the Andes. It was there that the great Inca civilization came to depend upon the chiles as their principal spice and a major crop. At the heart of the Incan Empire was farming, which determined nearly every aspect of society: the calendar, religion, law, and even war. The Incas were farmer-soldiers, likely to be called out of their elaborately terraced and irrigated fields at any time to defend the empire or extend its boundaries. But farming took precedence over fighting, and some later uprisings against the Spanish failed because the Inca soldiers left the battlefront to return to their fields. It has been estimated that more kinds of foods and medicinal plants were systematically cultivated in the Andes than anywhere else i
n the world at any time. The result of the Incan agricultural expertise included 240 varieties of potatoes, nearly as many kinds of beans, 20 types of maize, plus sweet potatoes, peanuts, pineapples, quinoa, chocolate, avocados, papayas, tomatoes, and—of course—several varieties of the beloved chile pepper.
Yellow rocotos with black seeds. Photograph by Chel Beeson. Sunbelt Archives. Work for hire.
The Incan historian Garcilaso de la Vega, known as El Inca, wrote in detail about chile peppers and their place in Incan culture. In his Royal Commentaries of the Incas (1609), he noted that chiles were the favorite fruit of the Indians, who ate them with everything they cooked, “whether stewed, boiled, or roasted.” He traced the nomenclature of the plant: the pods were called “Uchu” by the Incas, “Pimiento de las Indias” by the Spaniards, and “Ají” by the people of the West Indies, a name that became quite common in the Andes in later times.
The Incas worshiped the chile pepper as one of the four brothers of their creation myth. “Agar-Uchu,” or “Brother Chile Pepper,” was believed to be the brother of the first Incan king. Garcilaso de la Vega observed that the chile pods were perceived to symbolize the teachings of the early Incan brothers. Chile peppers were thus regarded as holy plants, and the Incas’ most rigorous fasts were those prohibiting all chiles.
According to El Inca, the Incas raised three types of chiles. The first was called rocot uchu , “thick pepper,” which described the long, thick pods that matured to yellow, red, and purple. The most likely identification of these chiles would be the ají type, Capsicum baccatum. El Inca forgot the name of the next type but wrote that it was used exclusively by the royal household. The third chile he described was chinchi uchu , which “resembles exactly a cherry with its stalk.” This type, with its name and cherry-like pods both still intact, has survived to this day in Peru and Bolivia; it is the rocoto, a variety of Capsicum pubescens and the only Capsicum with black seeds. El Inca noted that the chinchi uchu was “incomparably stronger than the rest and only small quantities of it are found.”
