Japanese chili pods
The baccatum cultivars display a large variability of pod sizes, shapes and colours comparable to the variety. Annuum, but there are no mild varieties. The baccatum flowers cream always have yellow or green spots on the petals, which is a feature not shared by any of the other cultivated capsicums. The most common cultivar is the goldenyellow ají amarillo which is known as kellu-uchu in quechua. In the dried form, it is referred to as cuzqueño, named after the ancient Inca town of cuzco. The ají colorado is basically the same chile, but ripens to a bright red colour. These two ajíes are the most characteristic chiles in Peruvian and Bolivian cuisine; for example, they are used to flavour a unique andean specialty, cuy (broiled or fried guinea pig). Although the baccatum species is not much grown outside of south America, there is a certain type often found in the countries of the Old World: It has characteristically bell-shaped three-lobed (occasionally four-lobed) fruits which turn red when mature. In Portugal and its former East African colonies, it is known as peri peri and is often confusingly called bell pepper or bell chile in other regions; another name alluding to the form is bishops crown. Ripe bird ajíes Peruvian ají colorado. . baccatum is cultivated since several millennia; the oldest archaeological evidence is 4500 years old. Consequently, human breeding has resulted in a large number of different cultivars, most of which have characteristically shaped pods. The most frequent types include spherical, lantern-shaped and broad finger-shaped ajíes. Pungency varies between medium and hot, but does not reach extreme hotness.
An Easy recipe for Spicy Edamame (soy beans)
The wild forms have small lite fruits in erect position that separate easily from the stem when ripe; they are often referred to as bird peppers, as the ripe fruits are eaten by birds. These wild forms may actually be predecessors of the domesticated forms; in some cases, however, is seems to be more plausible that the bird peppers were closely related, but not identical, to the population out of which the domesticated varieties were bred. Bird ají with flower and unripe fruit a european cultivar. Of the species Capsicum baccatum, at least two wild forms are known ( var. Microcarpum the cultivated form is often referred to as var. Pendulum for the pendant fruits. Baccatum, also named bird ají, still grows wild in the western part of south America and produces pea-sized fruits of high pungency; it is occasionally harvested in the wild, but does not have much superregional culinary importance. In parts of south America numerous varieties of Capsicum baccatum var. Pendulum are grown and often collectively termed ají in south American Spanish. West of the Andes, the ajíes are the most frequently eaten chiles, but they are also known in Brazil, paraguay and Argentina.
, a closer relation to some bolivian wild species (. Cardenasii ) has been confirmed. It is worth noting that there are even fertile hybrids between the wild. Cardenasii ( ulupica ) and the domesticated rocoto. For the cook, the rocoto is characterized by thick-fleshed pods unsuited for drying, a specific flavour, and widely varying hotness. The rocoto is probably the hottest chile still large enough for stuffing with meat or cheese; an example is rocotos bellenos from the peruvian Andes. By removing or retaining seeds and veins, the pungency can be controlled. Rocoto flower There is considerable disagreement about the actual hotness of the rocoto. In addition to the usual variations due to climate and soil, there are probably also individual differences: Because of its unusual spectrum of capsaicinoids, some humans find rocotos extremely hot, even hotter than habaneros, while the majority would rate them only moderately hot. In south America, the rocoto is known by a couple of quite ridiculous names like levanta muertos (raising the dead) or gringo huanuchi (gringo killer). While there is no wild form of the rocoto, all other domesticated domesticated chiles have closely related wild forms.
Baccatum ) and the potent chinchi uchu (. Chinense it was the dominant flavouring in Incan cooking; in fact, the Incas hardly used any other flavourings. Today, the capsicum pubescens chile is generally termed rocoto and locoto in Perú and Bolivia, respectively, and chile manzano (apple chile) in México; a cultivar with yellow fruits is known as chile canario. The species has been put to cultivation zachtboard in the highlands of Perú and Bolivia, and even today, cultivation outside that region is rare. It has been introduced to the tropical mountains in Central America (México, honduras and very recently cultivation started in Jawa/Indonesia as a pilot project ( cabe gondol, cabe bendot, cabe dieng to my knowledge, it is not cultivated anywhere else except by hobbyists. Pubescens cultivars can easily be identified by their purple flowers, hairy (pubescent) leaves and quite large apple-, pear- or egg-shaped pods with dark, almost black, seeds. Among the other cultivated chiles, purple flowers are extremely rare and essentially restricted to a few ornamental breeds. Black seeds are a unique feature. Pubescens, not shared by any other wild or cultivated species. Rocoto seeds (bell pepper seed top right for comparison) Locoto pods Fresh rocoto chile pods.
Sm.) forms globular fruits of less that 1 cm diameter. Quite atypical for a wild chile, they are borne in pending or semi-pending position on the plant. The ulupica fruits turn bright red when ripe, but are usually harvested before that stage. Fresh, green ulupicas serve as a table condiment in the Andean cuisine of Bolivia, allowing each diner to adjust the heat of soups and stews according to his personal preference. This variety is very hot; its heat develops rapidly in the mouth, and also vanishes quite quickly, similar to tabasco heat. Moreover, the ulupica has an interesting, fruity, unique flavour akin to the flavour of unripe tomatoes or green tomato leaves which is also remotely similar to taste of the rocoto (. Of the five cultivated species, capsicum annuum is by far most important globally, and is the one almost exclusively grown in Northern America and Europe. This species produces both mild and pungent fruits; its botanical characteristics, and the global usage of mild to medium chiles are discussed on a separate page. This page goes on to describe the remaining four cultivated species, which are still mostly grown in Latin America. Furthermore, it will describe the global uses of hot chiles. Capsicum pubescens ruiz et pavon Rocoto flower The hardy capsicum pubescens from the south American Andes is geographically quite limited. It was the most abundantly available chile in the Inca empire where it was known as rocot uchu broad chile, and together with kellu uchu (.
Yet in tropical south or south East Asia, chiles tend to have a flat, only-hot taste. Consequently, cookbooks hardly mention a specific variety but just ask for,. . g., fresh red chiles, and the cook may use whatever is available. It is absolutely no sin to employ thai chiles for Indonesian or Tamil food, whereas a mexican mole poblano prepared from Bolivian ají amarillo would probably terrify mexicans and Bolivians alike. Chile cultivars and usage in Latin America Ulupica flower Dried half-ripe ulupica fruits Ripe fruit of Capsicum cardenasii ( ulupica a wild chile of Perú and Bolivia the genus Capsicum comprises five cultivated and about twenty wild species, all of which stem from south America. All wild species form small fruits that usually appear in upright position on the plant and separate easily from the plant when ripe. The wild chiles have an intensive, fierce heat similar to tabasco chiles. Of the wild species, several are used culinarily,. . Praetermissum in Brazil. Although much collected in the wild, there is also some backyard cultivation that can be thought of as the begin of domestication. Praetermissum, there is already a notable increase in fruit size due to human selection. The species known as ulupica in Bolivia (.
Nevertheless, to the novice, a brutal burning in the mouth is certainly discouraging, and therefore, many people never try enough chiles to pass the initial barrier. Now, if you happen to get too much chiles, what is the best remedy against the fiery pain in your mouth, which reminds more of burning gasoline than anything edible? Drinks, especially when hot, sour or carbonated, must be avoided (thats why i prefer hot tea to spicy food: It stimulates the taste buds even more). Some suggest bread against the burn, but my experience (well, my experience with my guests :- to be precise) is best with diary products, especially yoghurt or cream. Chile does not equal chile! There is a big difference whether chiles are employed green or red, fresh or dried, or fried or boiled. Fresh Chiles, particularly if unripe, have a biting pungency, whereas the ripe dried chiles taste more spicy and balanced-fiery. By prolonged boiling, these differences get blurred, but they must be kept in mind for all raw or short-cooked foods. Some techniques, like the Chinese method to brown chile pods in hot fat, can be realized only with dried chiles. For the lipophilic character of the pungent principle, capsaicin, the pungency is well absorbed in any kind of fat or oil; fat-free hot food, spray on the other side, often tends to taste unbalanced (which can often be corrected with sweet and sour flavours). There is an important difference in the cooking styles of Central and south America compared to those of the rest of the world: In Latin America, each region has its own set of many local, traditionally grown chiles differing not only in hotness but also.
4000 Scoville heat units even if they are commonly called chiles in other literature. This group comprises only cultivars from Capsicum annuum. The term chiles, then, will be used only for fruits of significant pungency, above jalapeño level. This term may mean any of the five cultivated species; outside America, it will mostly also boil down. The other domesticated species are, as explained above, still mostly confined to latin America; they will hardly ever produce fruits that design have less than 20000 Scoville heat units. Chile-flavoured chocolate is recommended only for the most determined chileheads. Chiles may be used fresh or dried, ripe or unripe, cooked or raw; any way (that is my personal belief they tend to make everything better. People who do not agree on this point simply suffer lack of experience and training. Some claim that chiles pungency hides more subtle flavours and that the fiery hotness suppresses all other tastes. I do not doubt that novices really feel this way, and that chiles really spoil a dish for them, but the argument is not directed against chile use, but against untrained taste buds. After some experience with fiery but tasteful food, most people develop the ability to discern subtle flavours behind the chiles heat, and actually i feel that chiles enhance and amplify the taste of other food ingredients.
Typical ripe frutescens pod, due to the enormous culinary importance of chiles (and, as is to be confessed, my affinity for them this document is considerably oversized. To ameliorate, the following discussion is divided into three parts: cooking with Chiles, the first part explains some peculiarities of my terminology, gives a general introduction to cooking with chiles and elucidates fundamental differences in chile cooking habits of America and Asia. Chile cultivars and usage in Latin. America, estée in the second, Ill describe cultivars of those four cultivated species that still mostly grow in Latin America, and Ill explain their traditional usage. Note that Mexican cooking, which mostly relies on mild or medium-pungent,. This section contains many pictures of specific chile cultivars. Chile cultivars and usage in Asia and. Europe, the third part is mainly devoted to the usage of chiles in Asia and is organized geographically, not by botanical species. Europe, although mainly a white spot on the global chile map, is also included as far as chile traditions exist. Cooking with Chiles, the story of chiles starts several millennia ago in south America, but the details are shrouded in the mists of antiquity. The oldest archaeological evidence originates from the Andes, and it might well be that the enigmatic inhabitants of tiahuanaco already chewed chiles whilst sitting in the shade of the gate of the sun. In the course of the time, a large number of different chile cultivars were bred in Central and south America, but is seems that none of these ever left the American continent before the arrival of Columbus.