RED PEPPER. 



{Capsicum annuum, L.) 



That most delicate, palate-scorching soup called pepper-pot, a kind of devil's broth. 



— T. Brown : Works, II. 



Red pepper is a spreading, typically 

 herbaceous plant belonging to the night 

 shade family (Solanaceae). Stems are 

 soft and green in color. Leaves are 

 simple, margin entire, ovate, pointed and 

 stalked. The flowers are not especially 

 showy, white, single, axillary, rarely in 

 twos. The fruit, which is botanically a 

 berry, is green at first, changing to bright 

 red on ripening. It varies in size and 

 form. 



The remote history of Red Pepper is 

 somewhat obscure. The plant was pre- 

 sumably known to Theophrastus, yet the 

 fact that Red Pepper did not become 

 generally known in Europe until after 

 the discovery of America has led to the 

 supposition that it is a native of 

 America. If this supposition is 

 correct then of course the plant 

 could not have been known to the 

 ancient Greeks. The Spanish physician 

 Chanca, who accompanied Columbus on 

 his second voyage to America, made rec- 

 ord of a spice known as Agi, which the 

 natives added very liberally to their food. 

 In 1 5 14 Fernandez de Ovieto described 

 this same spice under the name Axi, call- 

 ing attention to the beautiful red fruits 

 which the Spaniards relished very highly 

 as a spice. In 1526 Cortez places Agies 

 among the valuable products of Mexico. 

 The noted botanist Caesalpino (1519- 

 1603) designated Red Pepper as a plant 

 derived from the West Indies. It soon 

 found its way into Spain and was at 

 first cultivated as an ornamental plant 

 but soon began to be cultivated as a 

 spice, not only in Spain but also in other 

 European countries. At the present time 

 Red Pepper is extensively cultivated in 

 most tropical and sub-tropical islands and 

 countries, particularly in South Amer- 

 ica, West Indies, Mexico, Central Amer- 



ica, Southern United States, Spain, Italy 

 and Hungary. 



Some of the synonyms for Red Pepper 

 are pod pepper, garden pepper, Spanish 

 pepper, Indian pepper, Turkish pepper, 

 Cayenne pepper, African pepper and pap- 

 rica. There are in all probability several 

 species though authorities differ. Some 

 give Capsicum annuum and Capsicum 

 longum as distinct species while others 

 (Fltickiger) state that they are identical. 

 Two other species are cited. Capsicum 

 frutescens and Capsicum cerasiforme. 

 Some authorities cite one species with nu- 

 merous natural varieties, others again 

 state that these so-called natural varie- 

 ties are purely culture varieties. It is 

 highly probable that Capsicum annuum 

 and Capsicum cerasiforme are distinct 

 species. Cultivation, climate and soil pro- 

 duce great variations in the size of the 

 plant but more particularly in the size 

 and form of the fruit. Color of the ripe 

 fruit also varies ; from red, the usual col- 

 or, to yellow and white. According to 

 Koehler, Capsicum fastigiatum of Blume, 

 which corresponds to Capsicum mini- 

 mum, is a very valuable and distinct 

 species while Fluckiger inclines to the 

 view that it is merely a variety of Capsi- 

 cum annuum and yields the compara- 

 tively small conical red pods known as 

 chillies, also as Cayenne or Guinea pep- 

 per. Capsicum baccatum is a species 

 native of Brazil having very pungent 

 fruits. 



The fruits are usually collected before 

 they are fully ripened, while they are 

 still of a green color, and dried, where- 

 upon they assume a bright red color char- 

 acteristic of Red Pepper. They have a 

 veiT- pungent taste and constitute one of 

 the most highly prized and most exten- 

 sively used spices being added to soups. 



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