History of ChiliesChilies are known to have been cultivated in Peru and Bolivia over 7000 years ago and were widely grown in Central and South America in Pre-Columbian times.
In Peru it was first cultivated in the area of Huaca Prieta.
Columbus took chilies back to Spain from the New World in 1493 mistaking them for black pepper, hence the name ‘chili pepper’.
Their use in cooking rapidly spread though Europe, Africa and Asia.
The chili pepper arrived in India, probably in Goa, with the Portuguese in about 1498 and its popularity as a spice ingredient was rapidly spread throughout South East Asia.
The Sweet peeper, on the other hand was better suited to the Mediterranean climate and its introduction into southern Europe came directly though the Spanish and Portuguese who brought them from their new colonies in South America.
The heat in chilies comes from a substance known as capsaicin, manufactured in the placenta, the central core of the fruit.
From here, the pungency is transmitted to the seeds of the outer skin.
History of Chilies
