Since growing hot peppers is one of my husband’s hobbies, my sister found The Great Chile Poster that measures two feet by three feet. It hangs in our dining room and lists the heat scale rating for thirty varieties of chili peppers. It has a rating of 0 to 10 with 0 representing the mild and ten the hot. Tom grew sixty-two of the estimated 2000 varieties last year. The Indian word for chilies is aji. They are classified as both a fruit and a berry. He discovered that both the weather and the type of soil affect the growing condition and how hot the peppers will be at maturity. The heat scale is valid for the single pepper tested. Peppers can grow on the same plant and vary in piquancy.

Botanists believe the first aji plants grew in South America. Chiles were grown in Mexico around 7000 B.C. They were grown as crops before corn and squash. There is no botanical proof chilies were anywhere but in the Americas before 1492. January 15, 1493 Columbus wrote islanders ate “much aji, which is their pepper and nobody eats without it, because they find it so healthful.” Columbus took peppers to Spain and within one hundred years they circled the globe. In Hungary, peasants ate mild and hot peppers and called them paprika peppers. It is estimated that seventy-five percent of the world eats chilies as a basic part of their diet.

The plants vary in shapes, colors, sizes, and degrees of piquancy. Aji plants can be from six inches to over three feet tall. A pepper can range in size from less than one inch to more than one foot. Warning: often the smallest ones are the hottest so bigger is not better if you like them hot. Each variety has its own unique flavor.

Chiles have numerous health benefits. Capsicum is the ingredient in Chile peppers that has the healing quality. Capsicum is used in creams to treat arthritis, shingles, diabetic neuropathy, and sever itches. According to research it helps regulate insulin, lower the risk of heart and lung disease, relieve nasal and sinus congestion, aid digestion, and help prevent blood clots. Chilies are naturally high in vitamin A and C. When my acid reflux flares up, Tom reminds me of the health benefits of chilies so I sprinkle some of his homemade hot sauce on my food and get relief. Caution: do not drink water because it intensifies the heat. Instead use whole milk, full fat yogurt, or ice cream because the capsicum which causes the burning sensation binds to the fat.

Chiles can be fruity or spicy, large or small, mild or hot, and come in an array of colors. They can be pickled, dried, frozen or you can eat them fresh. They can be both ornamental and healthful, and this is why Some Like it Hot.
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