Can you imagine Malaysian, Thai
or Chinese cuisine prior to the introduction of chiles around 1500 AD?
Many
varieties of peppers, also known as
members of the capsicum species, are not hot, or pungent. Most bell peppers
grown in the US have little or no pungency.
These varieties are used fresh, or often used to color other foods. The
wilder varieties, on the other hand, range from mildly to extremely pungent.
This is entirely due to the substance capsaicin, or, actually, a group of
similar substances called capsaicinoids.
These chemicals are found mostly in the ribs of the peppers, and
especially the placenta, which are the light colored membranes that attach the
seeds to the inside of the pepper pod.
Pure capsaicin is a whitish powder, soluble in alcohol but insoluble in
cold water, which is why drinking water to help alleviate the burning won't
work. Drinking whole milk or other
dairy products will help alleviate the burn, as will bread or other starchy
fare. Several people on the ChileHeads
mailing list swear by bananas as the ultimate rescue!
Chiles
are used in a wide variety of ways.
They can be chopped and used raw in salsas and salads, or used along
with citrus juices to marinade seafood in a dish called ceviche. They can also be cooked into a large number
of Southwestern, Asian and Indonesian dishes.
Chiles are also often dried and/or smoked. A smoked Jalapeno is called a Chipotle, and adds a pungent smokey
heat to many soups and stews.
The
capsaicinoids are unique compared to other "spicy" substances such as
mustard oil (zingerone and allyl isothiocyanate), black pepper (piperine) and
ginger (gingerol) in that capsaicin causes a long-lasting selective
desensitization to the irritant pain by repeated doses of a low concentration
or a single high concentration dose. This effect has been taken to its logical
conclusion in that many pain killing salves and creams now use capsaicin as
their active ingredient. This is also
manifests in 'Chile-heads' as an increasing ability to eat hotter chile peppers
and foods. Another effect of capsaicin
is that although it fools the nervous system into believing that it is being
burned, that no actual physical damage occurs.
As a result the brain releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller,
resulting in a slight euphoria experienced by the chile-chomper!
Back
in the early 1900s, a chemist named Wilbur Scoville, developed a method to
measure the heat level of chile
peppers. it's called the Scoville Organoleptic
Test, and is a dilution-taste procedure. In the original test, Scoville blended
pure ground chiles with a sugar-water solution and a panel of testers then
sipped the concoctions, in increasingly diluted concentrations, until they
reached the point at which the liquid no longer burned the mouth. A number was
then assigned to each chile based on how much it needed to be diluted before
you could taste no heat. The Scoville
heat scale is measured in multiples of 100 units, with the lowly bell pepper
rated zero, to the scorching, fruity tasting habanero which rates at 300,000
Scoville units. One variety of
habanero, the Red Savina, has been tested at over 500,000 units, and has been
listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds hottest chile! These days the Scoville method of tasting
diluted chiles has been replaced by
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). This has allowed a more precise measurement of the actual amount
of capsaicinoids in a sample of
chiles. The resulting measurement is
usually related back to the Scoville scale for comparison.
Scoville scale
| Scoville Units |
Type of Chile Pepper |
|
|
| 15,000,000–16,000,000 |
Pure capsaicin |
| 9,100,000 |
Nordihydrocapsaicin |
| 2,000,000–5,300,000 |
Standard U.S. Grade pepper spray |
| 855,000–1,041,427 |
Naga Jolokia |
| 350,000–580,000 |
Red Savina™ Habanero |
| 100,000–350,000 |
Habanero chile pepper |
| 100,000–200,000 |
Rocoto Jamaican Hot Pepper |
| 50,000–100,000 |
Thai Pepper |
| 30,000–50,000 |
Cayenne Pepper |
| 10,000–23,000 |
Serrano Pepper/td>
|
| 4,500–5,000 |
New Mexican |
| 2,500–8,000 |
Jalapeño Pepper |
| 1,500–2,500 |
Rocotillo Pepper |
| 1,000–1,500 |
Poblano Pepper |
| 500–2,500 |
Anaheim pepper |
| 100–500 |
|
| 0 |
No heat, Bell Pepper |
|
|
|
|
0-5,000: Mild
|
5,000-20,000: Medium
|
|
20,000-70,000: Hot
|
70,000-300,000: Extremely
Hot
|
One
of the first commercial condiments to be used to add a little fire to ones life
was Tabasco cayenne pepper sauce.
Originated in southern Louisiana just after the civil war, it was used
on raw oysters, scrambled eggs and gumbo.
Until the early 90s this and a few other cayenne type sauces were the
only game in town. The hot sauce
industry is now approaching $200 million a year in business. Now there are over 1000 different varieties
of hotsauce sold, some milder than Tabasco, many scorchingly hotter! The Tabasco Company itself now markets
several varieties of sauces, one flaming version made with habanero peppers,
considered by many fiery foods enthusiasts to be the hottest chile on earth.
Another
product that has made deep inroads into popular culinary circles in the US is
salsa, which surpassed the previous favorite condiment, catsup, in the early
90s. Generally a tomato based product
with chiles, onions and cilantro, there are hundreds of varieties offered with
diverse ingredients such as mangos, papaya, Vidalia onions, jicama, corn,
tomatillos and olives. Once reserved as
a dip for tortilla chips, salsas are now served as an accompaniment to a
variety of meats and fish
ChileHeads
don’t merely like the bite of these pungent pods; they yearn for it. The chile pepper adds a certain sensory
element to a dish, however elaborate or delicate it might be. The ChileHead is addicted. They start collecting different concoctions
including hot sauces, salsas, fresh or dried chiles and ground chile
powders. In what some might consider
obsessive, the pepper eater may begin to turn his or her nose up at foods that
cannot be enhanced by the addition of some sort of spicy condiment. That a
third of the world’s population has become so enamored of a fruit that bites
back with such a vengance is remarkable.
They will seek out others of their faith and trade chiles, sauces and stories. When they have stopped sweating and fanning
their mouths they will reach for another taste of El Grande…
Mark P. Stevens
Some Firey Recipes
Piquant
Salmon Rolls
8
oz. cream cheese
1/4
cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/4
cup green onion, chopped
1/2
tsp ground coriander
1/2
tsp cayenne (or more, to taste. For
Chilehead events I’ve used dried habanero powder)
1
stalk celery chopped
2
tsp lemon juice
8
oz. (3/4" by 2") thin slices smoked salmon
thin
sliced cucumber
freshly
ground pepper
your
favorite crackers (I use wheatsworth)
fresh
dill sprigs
hot
sauce*
1.
In a bowl, soften cream cheese and stir in chives, green onion walnuts and
celery.
2.
Add lemon juice and spices and mix well.
3.
Spread mixture on salmon slices and season with pepper, roll up to form neat
rolls
4.
Place a cucumber slice on each cracker and place a sprig of dill and a salmon
roll on each cucumber.
5.
Drizzle with remaining lemon juice and garnish with chives if desired.
* To
add some more heat you can add a couple drops of habanero sauce to the top of
the cucumber during assembly. The sauce I use has cloves and honey which
seem
to compliment the flavor of the salmon. You might want to play around with the
seasonings
salmon
rolls may be prepared several hours in advance, and assembled just before
serving to prevent the cracker from getting soggy.
Bun
Bo Hue (Vietnamese Hot and Spicy Soup)
By Lyn Belisle of the FoodWine mailing list
Ingredients:
4-6
pork feet
1-1
1/2 pounds roast beef
1/2
tsp. meat tenderizer
1-3
stems lemongrass, cut into 3" pieces
1
tablespoon chili powder
1
tablespoon vegetable oil
1
teaspoon chopped dry onion
1
1/2 teaspoon salt
1
teaspoon shrimp paste
1
teaspoon sugar
1
teaspoon MSG
1
package rice vermicelli noodles, cooked and drained
1. Boil the pork feet 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Cut the beef into bite size cubes, boil for
10 minutes, then drain.
3. In a deep
saucepan half filled with water, add pork feet and meat
tenderizer. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the beef cubes and
continue to cook over medium heat.
4. In the meantime put oil in a small skillet,
heat until very hot, remove from burner and immediately throw in the dried
onion and the chili powder. Stir well and pour into soup.
5. Add the shrimp paste and seasonings to
taste. Let soup simmer for 30-45 minutes until pig's feet are well cooked.
6. Soup is ready to serve. Fill bowls half full
of rice noodles and ladle the soup over them.
7. Serve with chopped green onion, cilantro,
sliced peppers, and lime.
Serves
4-6
Chinese
Hot & Sour Soup
Ingredients:
6
cups chicken stock
1/4
lb julienned lean pork or chicken
2
tbsp garlic & red chile paste
2
tbsp soy sauce
3/4
tsp ground white pepper
4
eggs, beaten
5
tbsp cornstarch
1
cup sliced shittake mushrooms
1 can
peeled straw mushrooms
1
can sliced bamboo shoots
1
can sliced water chestnuts
1
can baby corn ears
1
cake soft tofu, sliced into 1/4 inch cubes
1/4
cup white vinegar
1
tsp sesame oil
1/4
cup dried black fungus (cloud ears), soaked in water for one hour, drained and
sliced.
finely
chopped scallions for garnish
Preparation:
1.
Bring stock to a simmer, add soy, pork, mushrooms & chile paste, simmer for
10 minutes.
2.
add pepper, vinegar, bamboo, baby corn, water chestnuts, fungus and tofu,
simmer 10 min
3.
Mix cornstarch with 5 tbsp water and add. bring back to a simmer and pour the
eggs in a very thin stream over the surface. Let stand for 10 seconds before
gently stirring in the sesame oil.
4.
serve with a garnish of chopped scallions. The pepper, vinegar and chile paste
can be varied to taste. You're a chile-head, you know what to do!
Chipotle
Chicken & Veggie Soup
Got
the idea for this after sampling a couple bowls of a regional style soup during
a trip to the Firey Foods Festival in New Mexico, just substituted Chipotles
for the green
chiles:
1 6
lb. roasting chicken
1
32 oz can chicken stock
1
cup coarsley chopped celery (Save all veggie trimmings for stock)
1
cup diced red bell pepper
1
cup sliced carrots
2
medium onions coarsely chopped
1
cup corn kernels
1
16 oz can diced tomato
1
14 oz. can chipotles in adobo sauce
1/2
tsp thyme
cracked
black pepper to taste
salt
to taste (I use heavy chinese soy sauce)
1. Roast chicken in oven till done, cool
overnight.
2. Debone chicken and save all the bones &
scraps. Cut meat into bite size bits removing fat & gristle. Refrigerate.
3. In a large stock pot add bones and carcass
as well as veggie peelings, carrot butts and onion skins etc and cover with
cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 to 3
hours,
skimming and stirring occasionally.
4. Strain through a colander and add stock back
to pot. Add celery, bell pepper, corn, onions and carrots as well as the canned
stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until
veggies
begin to turn tender. Add chicken and canned tomato.
5. While soup is coming back to a simmer, take
about a cup of it and put in a food processor with the chipotles & adobo.
Whirr it up for about 30 seconds or untill the
peppers
are well pureed. Add salt, pepper and thyme to the soup, then start adding the
chipotle puree about a quarter cup at a time, stirring and tasting for the
desired
pungency.
Using all of it makes for a chileheads delite, but may be too much for some
gringos to handle!
6. This makes a big old pot full, which would
probably serve 10 or 15 people. Good for freezing and serving at a later time.
*You
could use all canned stock and one of those rotisserie chickens from the store,
but my life is dull and I got nothin' better to do...
