The History of the Chilli Pepper

The capsicum (Chilli Pepper) plant is indigenous to South America, where they grow wild. The very first concerted cultivation of the plant is believed to have taken place around 7000 to 6000 BC and traces have been found at prehistoric burial sites around Peru. By the turn of the 15th century, when the Spanish and Portuguese discovered South America, chilli peppers were widely cultivated for human consumption. Aren't we all glad that they did?.. read more

The main virtue of the chilli pepper lies in the fact that it is a powerful stimulant, yet has no narcotic effects. At last, something that feels good and is good for you! It is interesting that the chilli is most popular in tropical climates. One half expects people living in these regions would avoid any more heat at all costs, but no... read more

The chilli pepper has been cultivated in South America for nearly 10,000 years so it has had plenty of time to evolve. As a result there are almost as many types of chilli pepper as there are days in the year. These are just some of the chillis regularly grown in Mexico alone... read more

When one talks about hot peppers one thinks always of a burning sensation in the mouth. However, if you are handling fresh chillis you must remember that the oils and juices in the flesh will burn your fingers as successfully as they will burn your tongue. They must be treated with great care... read more

Preparing Chillis for Use

Once having conned one's rubber gloves, chillis may be cut in half lengthways and the seeds and ribs removed. Preferably, this operation should be done under running water. The flesh can then be sliced or chopped into whatever size is needed... read more

When you decide to grow your own chilli peppers you should not have too much trouble, provided you have a sheltered sunny corner in the garden or a greenhouse. Chilli peppers are less tolerant of northern climates, where they can only be grown in a greenhouse... read more

You may have heard it referred to as a pepper, but that shiny, tight skinned, green, red, purple, orange or gold strangely shaped vegetable that millions of people love to eat is not really a pepper at all! To be even more accurate, it is not even a distant relative of the piper nigrum or black pepper corn that is so liberally ground over almost everything we eat as seasoning or flavourant... read more

Cultivated Varieties

Let's have the Latin names please!

The most regularly cultivated peppers are those, which fall into the categories of Capsicum annnuum and Capsicum frutescens.

The species Capsicum annnuum includes most of the edible capsicums... read more

Are chillis good for me or bad for me?
The nutritional value of capsicums lies in their vitamin content. Vitamins A, C and E are present in sweet and hot chilli peppers, the sweet having particularly large amounts. As a matter of fact, 1 ounce of raw sweet pepper contains approximately 40 mg of Vitamin C, which is two thirds of the recommended daily intake of that vitamin... read more

The Famous Heat Scale Explained

How is the heat of a chilli measured?
In 1912 a chemist called Wilbur L. Scoville, devised a dilution method to calculate how hot chillis were. He added equal parts of sugar water to the capsicum oil until the burn could no longer be detected. The very mild chillis could take as much a 1000 units before the burn disappeared... read more

The Last Word

My intention in presenting this information to you is that you will gain a clearer understanding of the wonderful world of chillis and why I am so deeply involved in the subject I love so much. It's not hard to understand why all of my friends call me "Mr. ChilliMan"... read more