But peppers haven’t just stimulated the creativity of chefs; they’ve also stimulated the curiosity of scientists. Botanists have catalogued the minute variations in the various varieties of pimiento (Colman Andrews quotes scholar Charles Perry’s naming of the ñora pepper (Capsicum annuum grossum/
provar.pomiforme/sub-var Conc. humilirotundum!). They have theorised that the pepper’s active substance capsaicin (which gives chilies their kick) is enjoyed by birds, because birds eating peppers and excreting the seeds is the plant’s primary dispersal technique.
Medical researchers suggest that capsaicin may have prostate cancer-fighting properties. It’s also used as a stimulant and a pain reliever. The 17th-century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper described cayenne pepper as “a violent fruit” that could “help digestion, provoke urine, relieve toothache, preserve the teeth from rottenness, comfort a cold stomach, expel the stone from the kidney, and take away dimness of sight.”
Peppers have good levels of vitamins A, C and E. In fact, pound for pound, they have between six and nine times more vitamin C than tomatoes. And with only 25 calories per 100 grammes, they’re a good snack for dieters.
Even psychologists have pondered the pain/pleasure payoff of eating chilies, postulating that, like riding a roller coaster or bungee jumping, it allows us to enjoy the highs of simulated risk without any real danger.
Peppers of all stripes are now grown and eaten across the world, from Bangkok to Bogota. But even just here in Spain, where hot peppers have relatively few aficionados, there are numerous varieties, each with special characteristics and recipes to match.
Pimiento morron
More than half the peppers grown in the world are bell peppers (pimiento rojo, verde or morron). Prized for their sweet succulent flesh, they’re excellent when roasted and peeled to get rid of their rather thick skin. Prepared in this way they form part of the famous Catalan dish escalivada, along with aubergines and onions. Cut into strips and fried, they make the basis of chilindron, a typical dish in Navarra and Aragón. A similar variety is what’s called the pimiento italiano in Spanish. It has thinner skin and flesh than the bell pepper and has a an elongated, conical, often twisted shape.
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