What can be sweet and/or spicy?
I love writing you newsletters. It’s great incentive to research topics I’m curious about and call it work. This week in our Nightshade Series we’re covering the genus Capsicum.
Capsicums are flowering plants of the Solanaceae family. With over 50,000 varieties, the fruits of these flowering plants are known to us as peppers and like the eggplant, are technically berries. And like the potato, Capsicums, native to the Americas are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. They’ve been part of the human diet since around 7500 BC. They were brought to Europe and the Philippines by the Spanish conquistadors; Africa and other parts of Asia, such as India, by the Portuguese by the 15th century. Unlike other edible nightshades capsicum’s culinary use spread quickly. The hot varieties were especially appreciated for enlivening the palate with heat and spiciness. Spicy heat lovers will know the levels of heat, or concentration of capsaicinoids, of which the main bioactive compound is capsaicin, is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). The Scoville scale is so named for American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville who developed this method in 1912: a subjective assessment, the capsaicinoids are extracted with alcohol then diluted in sugar water. Increasing the concentration of sugar water to capsaicinoids, the dilution is given to 5 trained taste testers until a majority can no longer detect any heat. The heat level is based on this dilution, rated in multiples of 100 SHU.
Capsaicin levels vary amongst all the varieties of peppers and even within a single plant itself. Shishito peppers are a perfect example. They are considered a sweet Asian pepper but about 1 out of 10 is spicy. Capsaicin levels can vary due to sunlight exposure, stress due to lack of water or soil quality. Though capsaicin can be found throughout the fruit the highest concentration of capsaicin is in the white pith of the inner wall where the seeds are attached.
Consumption of capsaicin can cause intense feelings of pain and heat, though it supposedly does not cause injury….capsaicin binds to TRVP1 also known as the capsaicin receptor. The activation of this receptor leads to the painful burning sensation. Interestingly, birds are the only animal that are not affected by capsaicin. Evolutionists believe levels of capsaicin evolved to deter mammals from eating their plants, but not birds. Birds can consume the fruit, the seeds pass through their digestive tract, and then the seeds germinate elsewhere, proliferating the pepper plant.
Let it be noted, Capsicum plants have no relations to black pepper (Piper nigrum). Supposedly, Christopher Columbus called Capsicums “pepper” because at the time it was a prized spice from India and the only other food he could compare their heat and spicy flavor to.
Capsaicin is not only prized for its culinary use. It also has medicinal use. From Wiki:
“Capsaicin is used as an analgesic in topical ointments and dermal patches to relieve pain, typically in concentrations between 0.025% and 0.1%. It may be applied in cream form for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with arthritis, backache, strains and sprains, often in compounds with other rubefacients.
It is also used to reduce the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, such as post-herpetic neuralgia caused by shingles {..} HIV neuropathy and diabetic neuropathy.”
Not all Capsicums produce capsaicin, namely what we know of as bell peppers. Did you know there’s no such thing as a green variety of bell pepper? A green bell pepper is just the unripened version of all the common colors available like red, yellow and orange. (Except for the “Permagreen” variety developed by New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station which stays green until fully ripened) The ripening process is necessary for the maximum development of all the nutritional benefits. Case in point, green bell peppers have twice the amount of vitamin C by weight than citrus fruits but red and yellow have 4 times the amount. Red bell peppers have 11 times more beta carotene than green ones.
Peppers are a wonderful addition to any dish or wonderful all on their own whether you’re looking to excite your palate with some spicy heat or add sweetness with any sweet pepper such as a fully ripened bell pepper.
Next week I’m going to attempt to tackle what makes Solanaceae so unique in nature and what spurred my interest in this family in the first place.
Until next we meet!
Mahalo;
Mrs. Bob