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 wi 
th Ameriean-groivn 
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. 
1 
500 
Very good. 
?, 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1,050 
19,000 
700 
1,200 
1,000 
900 
800 
800 
700 
Good. 
3 
Poor. 
4 
Do. 
5 
Shells with very few seeds ». 
Very good. 
fi 
do 
Do. 
7 
do. 
Fairly good. 
8 
do 
Do. 
q 
do 
Do. 
in 
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 
