See also What is a Chili Pepper? Capsicums in general are cultivated for their fleshy berries and seeds, and they are grown in many places around the world. While these harvest berries vary in name from place to place and their type, the most common variety are called “chili peppers”, which themselves vary wildly in shape, size, appearance, flavor and piquancy, or heat. The name “capsicum” also refers to a pain reliever that contains capsaicin, derived from chili peppers, but here were are only concerned with the chili peppers themselves.
Capsicums Species and Varieties
There are 20-27 different species of capsicums in the world, but only 5 of them have been domesticated, all of them chili peppers. This species is popular all around the world. In North America, these varieties of peppers are most commonly called chili peppers or bell peppers - both come from this strand of pepper. This variety of pepper is also used medicinally in certain parts of Africa, and many people grow it for the purpose of its looks in their gardens. The most popular peppers in this category include bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and Thai peppers. Generally speaking, the fruit they produce starts off yellow, and then darkens into red upon complete maturity. The place where the Capsicum frutescens variety of pepper is used most often is likely in Ethiopian cuisine - it has been cultivated there ever since the 19th century. Today the plant is still used heavily in many kinds of African cooking, though it is less popular in other parts of the world. It has also shown up occasionally in the cuisine of North Africa, featuring in both Moroccan and Egyptian cooking. Some of the most well known peppers in this category include tabasco peppers, malagueta peppers and piri piri. These peppers are native to the Yucatan Peninsula area of Central America and on the Caribbean islands. These peppers can act as a perennial in the right environments, though in many areas where they are cultivated - particularly in the northern regions - they sometimes function as annuals. Even as an annual plant, however, the seedlings will germinate after the cold part of the year and the plant will live on. In restaurants, these peppers are popular for their potency. Most Western cuisine as a whole is not overly spicy, but elements of dishes that require kick often use Capsicum Chinense peppers, due to how potent they are. They are a very cost-effective ingredient in many Western kitchens for this reason - you need fewer of them to pack a punch in a dish! Some of the most well known peppers in this category include habanero peppers, ghost peppers, 7 pot peppers and the Carolina Reaper. This variety of pepper is the least cultivated out of all of the hot pepper strains. It is native to the northern regions of its area, so it is unique in its ability to withstand much cooler temperatures than its other chili brethren. The flowers of this variety of pepper are pretty distinct, as well - they are purple red, and tend to grow in clusters of four or five. If you’re on the lookout for these and you live away from their main agricultural areas, consider looking online for the dried varieties. These are easier to find and are often just as hot and useful in cooking as their fresh counterparts. The Amarillo chili is probably used most often in Peruvian cuisine. In fact, this kind of chili is so popular in this part of the world that it is often served as a condiment on the table alongside red onions and garlic. This pepper has a unique smoky quality to it that other peppers have yet to be able to reproduce. If you’re looking for something a little bit more unusual that still delivers the familiar zing of other, more popular peppers, check out what the Capsicum Baccatum family has to offer. Got any questions? Feel free to contact me anytime. I am happy to help.
