The spicy that changed the world

The spicy that changed the world
We talk about chili or chili pepper . American origin, chili can be eaten fresh and also as a main ingredient in the preparation of "ajiceros" and various dishes. There are more than 150 types, and their colors vary from green to red and yellow.

Colón called it "pepper in pods, very strong ...", perhaps due to the association of spiciness with pepper. In Spain the error of calling pepper to the varieties of this fruit remained, up to nowadays. In America it is known as ají or chile (from Nahuatl chili ). The pepper refers to a non-spicy species, while the chilli pepper is.
Fernando de Magallanes moved it to Africa and Asia.
A life with flavor
There is a lot of confusion when talking about red pepper or cayenne pepper (which they call the same name in French Guiana ), since it is actually chilli powder, which results when the fruits of one or several species of capsicum (scientific designation) dried previously. The dried and ground red pepper is what is known in Hungary as paprika .
Unlike other edible American plants that were not accepted right away, the opposite happened with chilli pepper: its use spread rapidly throughout Europe after 1493.

In this continent they were accustomed to drying it and grinding it to use it as a condiment or to give color to the dishes. In the middle of the 16th century it was cultivated in Italy, England, Spain and Prussia (Germany), being a fundamental ingredient for the Hungarian goulash , or spicing sausages. That's how traditional it has become.

A very spicy revolution
And quiet. This small fruit put the Mediterranean gastronomy upside down for the next two hundred years.

And in other latitudes we can mention, well above, that the cuisine of India, Indonesia and China, for example, uses chilli pepper as a basic ingredient for their traditional dishes. And the one from Pakistan, the one from Malaysia, the one from Cambodia, Iran, Thailand, the Philippines ... do you want more?

In Africa and India it was so good, acclimated so correctly, that in many places it is believed that the chili is native there. But no, it comes from America.

And their uses are as varied as their colors and flavors. For example, capsaicin, which is the chilli compound, stimulates the heat and pain receptors of the epidermis, so it is used as an analgesic topical. And in diets to lose weight : this component accelerates the thermogenesis of the body (the ability to burn fat), helping to lose centimeters.

And another very important use : the food prepared with chili is preserved much more and better, and is one of the reasons why it is so popular in the tropics, where heat and sun accelerate the process of decomposition of food