Good Morning Chiangmai News Magazine

Shaheen Perveen, whose native India now claims to produce the hottest, explains…..

For the British Cabinet Minister, the chilli probably belongs in a file labelled 'unhappy memories', but for the botanist, chillies belong to the genus Capsicum (derived from the Greek 'kapsa'), meaning 'box' or 'capsule', and refers to the shape.

This is part of the same family that gives us tobacco, tomatoes and sweet pepper, but there the relationship ends. This peculiar fruit family has been with us for millennia and therefore has an important part in history. Chillies come in a variety of colours - purple, red, yellow, orange, etc. They can be shaped like bananas, berries or wrinkled pendulums, or like round apples. Perhaps the chief misconception about chillies is their fiery hot reputation. Many are hot indeed, Mr.Bradshaw, but several others are sweet, mild or even richly flavoured.

Believed to have originated in the rainforests of the Bolivian Andes in South America, the family of Capsicum peppers is classified into sweet (bell) and hot (chilli). These are not to be confused with black/white shrivelled berries, also called cayenne pepper. In fact cayenne pepper is not a pepper at all. It was named by Christopher Columbus who thought he had found a new source of the highly valued spice - Piper Nigrum.

Archaeobotanists' earliest discovery of pepper pods dates back to about 5000 BC in a Peruvian cave. Around the same time, Capsicum pepper seeds were recorded in Tehuacan in Mexico. But the debate still lingers: whether the Spanish colonists brought the first seeds to Mexico in the late 1500's, or the Mexican tribes were already familiar with it and had bartered chillies among themselves since long before. However, the famous 'Tribute List' of the Mendocino Codex lists it as one of the principal tributes of the Mexica empire. The Aztecs collected chillies as tax payment from conquered tribes - and this system flourished under the Spanish occupation as well. Native American 'Indians' strung bunches of chillies to their canoes to ward off evils lurking in the water

It wasn't long before commercial trade routes introduced chilli to all parts of the world. Christopher Columbus first introduced these complex little critters to Europe. The European navigators took it to China and Philippines on boats like the 'Nao de China' that set sail from Acapulco. It touched the Indian shores via Goa - the city conquered by the Portuguese in 1501 in their quest for control of the spice trade. By 1542, there were 3 varieties of chillies growing in India and were exported from this early date.

On the Atlantic side, once Capsicum reached the Iberian Peninsula, it was carried on by Venetian, Greek and Arab traders and was soon destined to become an essential ingredient in the cuisines of distant regions of the globe. Chillies or 'prik' in Thai, are used extensively here and in fact seem obligatory in most dishes. There are at least 5 varieities and the most ferociously hot is the tiny green (sometimes orange-yellow) 'prik kee noo', rudely named after the rather similar-looking but differently coloured mouse droppings!

So what exactly gives them their punch? Capscaisin - an invisible, odourless alkaloid, which resides in the fleshy membrane inside each pod, is what gives the chilli it's bite and fills the mouth with that fiery, almost unbearable pain. When Capsaicin comes in contact with the nerves, pain signals are sent to the brain. This results in the release of natural pain killers or endorphins that actually create a feeling of well being! The more spicy the food ingested, the more endorphins are released. Usually the fatter chillies tend to be more mild than the longer, thin varieties, and the smaller the chilli, the hotter the taste.

(Dep.Ed: Western research shows that Capsaicin is detectable to the human palate in dilutions of 1 to 17 MILLION. It is only very slightly soluble in water but highly soluble in alcohol, fats and oils. This is why beer helps more than water in quenching the fire!).

The heat (or the Capsaicinoid content) is measured in Scoville units (named after Parke Davis Company chemist Wilbur Scoville who developed a method of measurement in 1912). Generally, those with heat coefficients greater than 100 Scoville units are classed as chillies. Those under that figure are classed as bell or sweet peppers. The former registers at zero. As a guide, Habanero entered the 'Guinness Book of Records' at 325,000 units of Scoville.

Until India recently claimed the "prize", the hottest pepper in the world was believed to be Mexico's Red Savina Habanero - a small, yellow/lime green chilli pepper which is too hot to be eaten!

Next comes the Mombasa variety, which produces a sensation of heat that is felt mostly in the sinuses and nasal passages. Now the Indian media claim that Naga Jolokia, a chilli variety that grows in Assam, has surpassed the Habanero pungency with 855,000 Scoville units!

Despite their burning taste, hot peppers can help cool the body by fostering perspiration. Hot peppers are a positive help to the digestive system! Chilli speeds up the metabolism, is slightly addictive and is known to prevent blood clots and relieve flatulence. The sweet and mild green pepper, which makes an excellent garnish, is rich in vitamin C content and is possibly the richest source among vegetables. Who realises that peppers are 3 times richer in vitamin C than oranges?!

The levels of vitamins A and C depend on the pepper's degree of ripeness. Fully ripe chillies may have as much as 10 times more Vitamin A than green chillies. Contrary to popular belief, the seeds of green pepper are not hot - but are very hard and apt to get under dentures.

So Capsaicin is the compound that fuels the burning sensation. It literally bonds to the pain receptors in your mouth. Milk and yogurt (but not all dairy products) are good antidotes because they contain a protein called casein, which works to break the bonds and separate the fire-causing chemical from the tender nerves in your mouth. (Dep.Ed: in local emergencies, liberal helpings of cooked rice and/or cold melon have also been found to be effective).

The impression made by this plant is no less diverse that its use - as vegetables, as spices, as dyes, as medicine, as cosmetics, etc. Chillies are used in poultry feed to enhance the colour of egg yolks and feathers. The tobacco industry uses solvent extracts and oil resins from it in some of their blends to give cigarettes characteristic flavours. Chillies also contribute to the production of agricultural insecticides, household insect repellants and in marine paint to keep away the barnacles!!

Beside its role as a condiment and food source it has other uses, some of which have remained hidden for years. In British Columbia, policemen have been 'peppering' suspects with a unique spray containing Oleoresin Capsicum - an extract of pepper which inflames the membranes around the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat and prompts a burning sensation. The Columbian policemen are doing almost exactly what the Mexicans did before the Spanish conquest. They burned dry chillies as a weapon of war, just as the Incas burned mounds of them to temporarily blind the Conquistadors. Aztec children were often made to breathe the fumes created from chillies as a punishment.

A chilli a day…..

Perhaps chillies are used most spectacularly in medicine? Mesoamerican culture used them in the treatment of numerous ailments like toothaches, ear infection, dizziness, gastric problems, muscular aches and pains, tuberculosis, obstetric problems, swellings, bumps and bruises, worms, coughing, splenetic obstruction and many other ailments. Mexicans believed that it was not apples, but chillies that kept the doctor away! It is said that if a Mexican died out in the field, the vultures would keep away because of the Capsaicin saturated in the body !!

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So many uses! Actual dried chillies decorate the menu of the Chillis Restaurant at the Rydges Tapae Hotel. But they're optional in your meals!

Modern day researchers believe that Capsaicin paste relieves arthritis and reduces swelling. Capsaicin stimulates, then inhibits, the production of Substance P, a neuropeptide that relieves pain and inflammation. The release of endorphins in the brain has a pain relieving effect similar to that of morphine.

In my native India, powdered chilli is applied to dog bites. After a proper soap wash, mustard oil is smeared and then dressed with powdered chillies. Chilli paste mixed with clarified butter helps in the restoration of numbness. Mixed with honey, chilli powder is administered in cases of cholera.

A single pepper has a sufficient supply of beta carotene and enough of vitamins A and C to make it an invaluable food in the fight against cancer and heart disease. It is further augmented as a popular laxative, counter-irritant, analgesic, gastric tonic and stimulant. Its prowess as an aphrodisiac and 'cleansing element' are well known. So if you are already addicted, relax. It's hard to see how we could live without them!