AMERICAN-GROWN PAPRIKA. 



9 



shells, but also by introducing tests on seeds and placentae to ascer- 

 tain something concerning the distribution of the pungency in the 

 fruit. Table III presents results obtained on American-grown ma- 

 terial. 





Table III. — Pungency tests with 



.4 merica n-groion 



paprika. 



No. 



Nature of sample. 



Drying heat. 



Ratio of 

 pepper 

 to sugar. 



Color. 



1 





135° F. 

 135° F. 

 135° F. 

 135° F. 

 Air dried. 

 98° F. 

 113° F. 

 131° F. 

 145° F. 

 176° F. 





500 



Very good. 



9 







1,050 



19,000 



700 



1,200 



1,000 



900 



800 



800 



700 



Good. 



3 





Poor. 



4 





Do. 



5 





"Very good. 



6 



do 



Do. 



7 



do 



Fairly good. 



R 



do 



Do. 



Q 



do 



Do. 



10 



do 



Poor. 













From these tables it will be seen that the home-grown product 

 is in general somewhat more pungent than the imported article 

 representing like structures. There are, however, imported samples 

 of shells more pungent than the average of the home-grown samples, 

 and imported samples of the whole pods of which the same might be 

 said. 



An examination of the results obtained by testing different parts 

 of the fruit shows the relatively low pungency possessed by the seeds 

 and walls in comparison with the extreme pungency characteristic 

 of the placental tissue. 



In connection with the discussion in a later part of this paper 

 of the methods of curing ripe pods of the paprika, the temperature 

 to be used in drying the fruit is mentioned. In working out this 

 point of practice, pods dried at different temperatures were subjected 

 to the pungency test in order to ascertain whether heat modifies this 

 characteristic. The results are seen in Nos. 5 to 10, inclusive. Pods 

 air dried were probably not submitted to a temperature of 100° F. 

 It will be noted that as the temperature of the curing house was run 

 higher the color of the product was impaired to a corresponding 

 degree and the pungency correspondingly reduced. To what this 

 latter effect is due can not be stated. That it is hardly due to the 

 escape of the pungent constituent is shown by the fact that the at- 

 mosphere of the curing house containing tons of drying peppers is 

 not noticeably peppery, as would be the case if capsaicin were escap- 

 ing even in a small degree. 



SWEETNESS. 



Paprika pepper is characteristically a sweet pepper, the sugar 

 being found chiefly in the wall of the pod. Determinations made on 

 ground material from South Carolina pods artifically dried showed 

 13575°— Bull. 43—13 2 



