[Table of Contents] [Previous] [Next]

BACKGROUND CHILE INFORMATION

CHILES or "CAPSICUM, PEPPERS, CHILE-PEPPERS, " but Not Pepper !

• GENERAL INFORMATION .... Each salsa has what is known as it's own "mouth feel" that is a result of the complex interaction of flavor, heat and texture. Therefore it is very important to know what chile produces which effects. Keep in mind that due to it's complexity, a chile's particular effect will alter depending on which vegetables it is blended with, or what spice or fruit is combined with the salsa recipe. In the end, this necessitates a lot of taste testing and as often is the case in Mexico, the desired "mouth feel" only comes with a nice blend of several chiles.

• BOTANY .... Chiles grow on a bushy, woody-stemmed shrub that comes in many sizes with many different fruits of numerous varieties that vary in color, shape, texture and "heat or picante" or piquancy.

  --Some are consumed fresh like the chile serrano.

  --Some are pickled like the chile Jalapeno.
    Note that the Chile Chipotle is the only dried chile that can be pickled.

  --Some are dried on the plant like the chile ancho.

  To try and predict the degree of hotness is very difficult. The "heat" of most chiles is harboured in the veins and seeds of the fruit. This plant is quite prone to cross-pollination which results in piquancy alterations and in fact it is not uncommon to have chiles picked from the same plant vary in their "heat" from mild to blazing. Often the ground near a patch of chiles will itself become piquant and other cultivated or wild plants or vegetables pick up some of this "heat".

• NUTRITION .... From a nutritional standpoint chiles have much more to offer than just piquancy and flavor. Fresh peppers have a substantial amounts of Vitamins, C, D and A. In fact, chiles played a major role in the discovery of of Vitamin C by Hungarian Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, MD/PhD, who was awarded the Nobel prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1937. He isolated this compound in great quantities from his beloved Paprika Peppers of Hungry, which contain very large amounts of the vitamin. Fresh peppers have been shown to contain twice the amount of vitamin C than citrus fruits. Note that when most Capsicums are dried almost 100% of their Vitamin C is lost through degradation.

• PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS ....
  • Appetite and Digestion
    Chiles have been shown to stimulate and aid digestion because they increase saliva and gastric juice production. The consumption of chiles is often but not exclusively found in countries where bland diets predominate, which are usually in what is commonly referred to as third world countries. These chiles add both flavor and color to what would otherwise be a rather monotonous diet of starch. The increased salivation resulting from eating these chiles helps in the eating, chewing and digestion of this mealy kind of food.
  • The Pleasure of the Pain
    The pleasure chile lovers enjoy is caused by taking the eaters mind momentarily off their troubles; a short escape from reality. Often termed a "rush" it represents a turning of a non dangerous pain stimulus into pleasure; a release of cerebral endomorphins.
  • Gustatory Sweating
    This is a phenomena produced exclusively by the pain nerve fibers, not taste nerve fibers. Gustatory sweating appears to only occur in hot climates and is precipitated by the eating of piquant foods. Perspiration is produced in the head, scalp and neck and throat area hat only in a hot climate yields a cooling affect when this perspiration evaporates on the skin.
  • Lung and Respiratory Problems
    Man has known for a long time that spicy and piquant foods act as an "expectorant" and help break up flem in the lungs and respiratory region. when eaten in moderation. The Incas and Aztecs knew this and used the chile for such purposes. The same spicy foods or chiles when eaten in concentrated forms or large amounts help induce vomiting. The ingestion of spicy and piquant chiles causes the eater to consume more liquids which also helps to loosen the sticky flem and other respiratory secretions from the infected region.