Plant histories
The history behind a number of crop plants.
Looking at where they originated, their domestication, the introduction of these crops to Europe, how European attitudes to them changed over the centuries and ultimately how our changing demands have influenced the plants themselves.
Introduction
A truly global ingredient, capsicums (chillies and sweet peppers) are a vital part of many cuisines all over the world. They are the essence of spicy Mexican chilli salsa, Hungarian goulash and most Asian curries. While native only to South America, capsicums are now one of the most widely cultivated crops worldwide.
Many English speakers call these plants peppers, but this can be confusing because black pepper is a different plant altogether. The confusion may have arisen when capsicums were first taken to Asia and began to replace black pepper as a spicy ingredient in food. On this website, we use the term capsicum to refer to both the small spicy ones (usually called chillies), and the large, sweet, non-spicy ones (often called peppers).
A species of chili peppers - part of the capsicum genus.
Photographer: benny yap. Copyright: CC
Another confusion arises in the English speaking world regarding the spelling of spicy capsicums – is it chile, chilli or chilli? It seems that all three versions are used in different parts of the world to describe either the plant, the fruit and the delicious meals made from them.
