European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 16, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Living today hot stuff a Chile for every pot by Sharon Hudgins special to stripes Magazine or Chili no matter How you spell the word refers to peppers of the Capsicum Genus of plants which also happen to be related to and coming from Texas where the Correct spelling of this term is taken seriously i prefer to use the Spanish form Chile plural when writing about certain members of the Capsicum As any texan refers to thick Stew made from meat and Chiles and a lot of other ingredients although i refuse to get embroiled in anyone heated argument about which other ingredients should or should not be included in a True Texas Chili powder is the combination of ground Chiles and spices that gives its kick Ancho Anaheim Chile Black and if you think All this talk about Spellings is wait until you hear about the Chiles there Are maybe of varieties of them depending on which expert you even Christopher Columbus was he originally set sail for in search of the spice known As the Globe didst quite match his navigational and Columbus ended up on the shores of America thinking he had reached the exotic Columbus named the natives and called their fiery hot vegetable students of social and gastronomy have had to contend with these Misnomer Ever Columbus carried these peppers Back to the old while portuguese traders spread them far and wide throughout in another couple Hundred Capsicum peppers of one sort or another usually Many varieties of in fact had become totally integrated into the cuisines of the the Middle and much of in any regions where climate and soil were hospitable to their completely unrelated to the plants which produce those Black and White spice Peppercorns that Columbus was searching Capsicum peppers from the new world turned out to be a Welcome addition to Many Peoples not Only do they provide both flavor and spiciness in most but there also very Good for one medium raw Pepper contains More than the recommended adult daily allowance of vitamins c and cooking reduces the Vitamin c level a and drying almost eliminates but the amount of Vitamin a remains the Capsicum peppers also contain and a Little protein and there extremely Low in Capsicum peppers come in Many and depending on the specific Type of Pepper and whether it is fresh newly or fully mature or some Are As Small As a whereas the no mex big Jim can grow to almost a foot in the ones we Call Bell or Sweet have a lot of flavor but no hot especially the ones we think of As can Range in pungency from mild to total even Chiles from the same Plant can vary from mild to that burning sensation you feel when you eat certain types of peppers is produced by an irritating chemical that present in greater or lesser quantities depending on the variety of the smaller the the hotter it sharply pointed peppers Are usually much hotter than those with wide or rounded ends the latter can even be quite and with fresh Green Chile peppers not Sweet Bell the darker1 the color the hotter the Pepper will its a misconception that red peppers Are necessarily hotter than Green Green ones Are fully but unripe As the peppers they turn red some varieties become Greenkolor peppers have a sharper flavor than fully mature red and the red peppers usually have a More even More meaty flavor than the Green ones from the same in terms of Green Chiles can indeed be another popular misconception is that the seeds Are the hottest part of the the veins inside the Pepper Are even hotter than the that Why Many recipes Tell you to seed and Devin the peppers before using a real texan would never do of most cookbooks advise you be very careful when handling hot because the capsaicin can be transferred from your fingers to sensitive areas such As lips and cause a very uncomfortable burning the usual advice is to Wear rubber gloves when working with hot peppers a solution that worse than the in my Ever tried to chop a Slippery Serrano while wearing plate mitts no id rather rely on my own intelligence to remind me not to touch sensitive bodily parts after handling hot Chile what that capsaicin can do to the inside of your when you eat a hot is a matter for More Ive been in training since Early so it takes an unusually fiery Pepper to faze but i know Many people for whom one bite of a is certain proof that Treyve died and gone to the Best antidote is to drink some milk or or eat some butter or full fat the fats will coat your Mouth and reduce the burning one restaurant in gives All of its customers a Small complimentary Glass of half half on the at the end of the the mixture not Only tastes it also puts out any flames remaining in your peppers Are marketed in Many forms fresh dried fully Ripe red peppers whose colors Range from Bright red to almost sometimes dried whole red peppers Are Strung together into Xistras or in dried red peppers Are also crushed and sold As red Pepper flakes and Chile or ground into powder and sold As paprika usually hungarian or ground Chile usually from new or Chili powder that Texas combination of and the mildness or hotness of these products depends on the amount of veins and seeds left in the dried Chiles before they were crushed or i Haven got space to describe thoroughly even the most common peppers used in but you can use the following information As a first step toward learning More about this fascinating if the name of a Pepper is listed in both taste then the peppers taste can Range from mild to Many of the terms Are reflecting the historical fact that Columbus great Pepper Hunt was funded by the King and Queen of fresh mild peppers Bell Sweet italian Spanish Sweet banana Sweet Cherry fresh hot peppers hot Cherry no mex big Santa be Spanish 4 stripes Magazine May