"Chili Peppers Part Of Our Diet"
Todays Health Article
Assorted Bell Peppers
National Nutritional Month… Theme “Eat Right With Color”
March 8th, 2011
Chili peppers of today have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador that chili peppers were domesticated more than 6000 years ago, and was one of the first cultivated crops in the Central and South America. Starch Fossils and the Domestication and Dispersal of Chili Peppers (Capsicum spp. L.) in the
Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to discover peppers in the in the Caribbean. He called them “peppers” because they, like black and white pepper found in Europe, had a hot spicy taste. Upon the Peppers introduction to Europe, chili’s were really grown as curiosities in the gardens. The Spanish and Portuguese monasteries experimented with the chilis’ culinary potential. They then discovered, that their pungency offered a substitute for black peppercorns. During this era the peppercorns were so costly that they were used as legal currency in some countries, leaving the monasteries, with an alternative.
PEPPERS
THE HEAT Explained
A display of hot peppers and a board explaining the Scoville scale. The substance that provides the intensity in chili peppers when you swallow a pepper is called capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, and collectively called capsaicinoids.
Capsaicin when consumed, these capsaicinoids bind with pain receptors in the mouth and throat that are responsible for sensing heat. Once activated by the capsaicinoids, these receptors send a message to the brain that the mouth is on fire! This same person has consumed something hot. Then the brain responds to the burning sensation, by raising the heart rate, increasing perspiration and release of endorphins.
A 2008 study reports that capsaicin alters how the body’s cells use energy produced by hydrolysis of ATP.
The “heat” of chili peppers
This was historically measured in Scoville heat units (SHU), which is a measure of how much a chili extract must be diluted in sugar syrup before its heat becomes undetectable to a panel of tasters.
Bell peppers rank at 0 SHU, New Mexico green chilies at about 1,500 SHU,
Jalapeños at 2,500–5,000 SHU, and habaneros at 300,000 SHU.
Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, and crystalline-to-waxy solid, at room temperature, which measures 16,000,000 SHU.
According to Guinness World Records, as of February 25, 2011, the world’s hottest chili pepper is the Naga Viper pepper with a Scoville rating of 1,382,118 SHU.
Thai Peppers
Uses of Peppers
- Dried chilies are often ground to powders. Chilies may be dried using smoke, such as the chipotle, which is the smoked, dried form of the jalapeno.
- Many fresh chilies such as, poblano, have a tough outer skin, which after cooking and cooling, the skins usually come off more easily.
- Chili pepper plant leaves, mildly bitter but not nearly as hot as the fruits that come from the same plant, are cooked as green.
- Chili is also an important ingredient in almost all curries and food recipes in the country.
Chilies are present in many cuisines.
- Paprikash from Hungary — uses significant amounts of mild, ground, dried chilies, aka paprika, in a braised chicken dish
- Chiles en nogada from the Oaxaca region of Mexico — uses fresh mild chilies stuffed with meat and covered with a creamy nut-thickened sauce
- Mole Poblano from the Pueblo region of Mexico– uses several varieties of dried chilies, nuts, spices, and fruits to produce a thick, dark sauce for poultry or other meats
- Putanesca sauce from Italy — a tomato-based sauce for pasta including dried hot chilies
- Kung Pao Chicken (also spelled Gong Bao) from the Sichuan region of China — small hot dried chiles are briefly fried in oil to add spice to the oil then used for frying.
- Nigerian dishes and those in many parts of Africa.
- Fresh or dried chilies are often used to make hot sauce, a bottled condiment to add spice to other dishes. Hot sauces are found in many cuisines including harissa from the Middle East, La Yu from Japan, and sriracha from Thailand.
Nutritional value
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 166 kJ (40 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 8.8 g |
| Sugars | 5.3 g |
| Dietary fiber | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 0.4 g |
| Protein | 1.9 g |
| Water | 88 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 48 μg (5%) |
| - beta-carotene | 534 μg (5%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.51 mg (39%) |
| Vitamin C | 144 mg (240%) |
| Iron | 1 mg (8%) |
| Magnesium | 23 mg (6%) |
| Potassium | 322 mg (7%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database |
|
Red chili contain high amounts of vitamin C and carotene (provitamin A). Yellow and especially green chilis (which are essentially unripe fruit) contain a considerably lower amount of both substances. In addition, peppers are a good source of most B vitamins, and vitamin B6 in particular. They are very high in potassium, magnesium, and iron. Their high vitamin C content can also substantially increase the uptake of non-heme iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as beans and grains.
Todays Health Comments
Although I have not included all the varieties of chili peppers in my diet, we should be considering those our palate can withstand without calling the fire department for a deluge of water down the throat. I mistakenly tried some Thai peppers only once and do not ever remembering my eyes watering that badly or the amount of water that I drank. Learning later there was alternatives to my eating approach. These Chili Peppers are rich in vitamins and minerals that we all need. For better health, you may want to add these colors to your diet.
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