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{
Capsaicin
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Capasaicinoids
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Capsicum
}
{
Color
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Cultivars
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Other Names
}
{
Scoville Heat Units
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Species Names
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Substitutes
}
Capsaicin
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Also spelled capsaicine, CAPSAICIN is the most
abundant of the pungent principles of the chile pepper
(Capsicum).It is one of several organic nitrogen compounds
in a pungent lipid group known as capsaicinoids. These
compounds are generally concentrated in the placenta to
which the seeds are attached. A smaller amount is found
in the veins or white lines running from the top of the
pepper to the bottom. The seeds contain only a
small portion of capsaicin.
Capsaicinoids
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A group of chemicals called CAPSAICINOIDS are
responsible for the heat in chile peppers. Each one
produces a slightly different burn. The hottest and most
famous of the five is called capsaicin. This is the magic
bullet that produces the sensation of fire in your mouth.
When the fire hits, your mouth sends a signal to your
brain that signals the release of natural pain relievers,
which we all love. The amount of capsaicin in a hot
pepper is expressed in Scoville Units.
Capsicum
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The genus CAPSICUM is in the nightshade family (Solanaceae)
as is the potato, tobacco, petunia and others. Native to
Central and South America and widely cultivated throughout
the world, the genus Capsicum consists of perrenial
herbaceous to woody shrubs. Although there are many
wild Capsicum species, only five are domesticated.
Color
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In all shades of brilliant red, yellow, green, purple, orange
and brown, the color of chile peppers is important both
gastronomically and aesthetically. As a pepper ripens, its
color changes and its distinctive flavor develops, reaching
its peak at maturity. Generally peppers start out green,
ripen red and dry to brown but there are many
variations depending on the pepper.
Cultivars
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A cultivar is an organism or hybrid that has originated
and persisted under cultivation. The word comes from
"cultivated variety" and is abbreviated as "cv."
Each cultivar must be named in conformance with the
International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants
and that name comes after its scientific name, regulated
be the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
(i.e. Capsicum frutescens cv. 'Tabasco') Got all that?
Other Names
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The name you use for a particular pod may not be the
name used for the same pepper in a different country,
or different state, for that matter. Sometimes the
same name is given to different chiles. We have listed
all the names we know for each pepper profiled.
Do you know any more?
Scoville Heat Units
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SCOVILLE UNIT MEASURING was invented in 1912
by Wilbur L. Scoville, a pharmacologist for the Parke-
Davis Company. Willie's original test consisted of a panel
of tasters who would systematically taste for detectable
"heat" in a solution of extract of chile and slightly
sweetened water. The idea was to determine how far the
chile extract could be diluted and still have a detectable
burn. For example, a Jalapeno pepper rated at 4,500
Scoville units tells us that 4,500 parts sugar water are
needed to dilute one part Jalapeno extract to the last
point that hotness can be tasted. Add any more sugar
water and according to this subjective test, you
would not be able to taste any hotness.
Confused? You bet you are! That is why the food
industry no longer uses this archaic test, but chile heat
is still given in Scoville units. Today, machines use high-
pressure liquid chromatography to measure chile heat. This
method takes out the guess work, but one should keep in mind
that it only rates the heat of the sample being tested, and
not the absolute fire power of every chile in that variety.
Climate, soil, weather, geography and harvest time all
affect how hot a pepper can be. Heck, even chiles
on the same bush can have different heat levels.
SO, when you're trying to grasp how hot that Red Savina
is at 500,000 Scoville units, think of this: If you took a
beer can full of Red Savina pepper extract and poured it
into a large vat (it must be a very large vat), it would take
500,001 beers to dilute the extract to the point
where there was no heat tasted. A bit mind boggling, isn't it?
Species
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Species is a category of biological classification
ranking immediately below the genus (ie. Capsicum) which
relates all organisms potentially capable of interbreeding.
All domesticated chile peppers are classified into five
species: C. annuun var. annuun, C. frutescens, C. chinense,
C. baccatum var pendulum, and C. pubescens. There are
many more wild species, only a few of them domesticated
(i.e. chiltepin). Virtually all of the Capsicums found in
markets around the world are C. annuum var annuum,
although there exist many cultivars within this species.
Substitutes
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While enthustiastically preparing an enticing recipe,
it is every cook's dilemma to suddenly discover that
one or more of the ingredients are impossible to find
(unless, of course, you happen to have a copy of
the Mo Hotta- Mo Betta catalog nearby!). Some chile
peppers substitute very well for others, depending on
the recipe, and sometimes no substitute will suffice.
We have suggested substitutes where applicable, but
keep in mind that the flavor and heat level will
vary if substituting in a recipe.
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