On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 803

Chillis,or“chilepeppers,”thefruitsofsmall
shrubsnativetoSouthAmerica,arethemost
widelygrownspiceintheworld.Theiractive
ingredient,thespectacularlypungent
chemicalcapsaicin,protectstheseedsofthe
chillifruit,andappearstobeachemical
repellantaimedspecificallyatmammals.
Birds,whichswallowthefruitswholeand
dispersetheseedswidely,areimmuneto
capsaicin;mammals,whoseteethgrindupthe
fruitanddestroytheseeds,arepainedbyit.
It’sawonderfullyperverseachievementfor
ourmammalspeciestohavefalleninlove
withthisanti-mammalianweaponandspread
thechillismuchfurtherthananybirdever
did!
Thesuccessofthechillihasbeen
remarkable.Worldproductionand
consumptionarenowsome20timesthatof
theothermajorpungentspice,blackpepper.It
isubiquitousinCentralandSouthAmerica,
SoutheastAsia,India,theMiddleEast,and


NorthAfrica.InChinathechilliisamajor
spiceinSichuanandHunanprovinces;in
Europe,HungaryhasitspaprikaandSpainits
pimenton.IntheUnitedStates,salsasbecame
morepopularthanketchupinthe1980s,
thankstotheinfluenceofMexican
restaurants.Mexicoremainsthemost

advancedchilliculture,whereseveral
differentvarietiesmaybeblendedtoobtaina
particularflavor,andwherethesubstanceof
manysaucesiscontributedbychillis,without
theaidofflavorlessfloursorstarches.
Chillis and Capsaicins There are about 25
species ofCapsicum, most natives of South
America, of which five have been
domesticated. Most of our common chillis
come from one species,Capsicum annuum,
which was first cultivated in Mexico at least
5,000yearsago.Chillisarehollowfruits,with
anouterwallrichincarotenoidpigmentsthat
encloses the seeds and the tissue that bears