I thought I had killed this pepper tree by transplanting it out of the shade of the giant zucchini bush. Then today, I noticed this fellow.
Namesake: Xalapa, Veracruz in Mexico
Provenance: As above. The original origin of the chile/chilli/chili is Peru or Ecuador.
Distinguishing marks: Scars. The more scars, the spicier. But on the Scoville scale of fieriness, it is average, coming in at about 5,000 between the 1 million unit and top ranking Naga Jolokia and the zero ranking bell pepper (also growing in the backyard farm).
Stats: Grows to 3 inches and turns red as it ages. Like all other chili peppers, J has anti-cancer capasaicin.
Family tree: A type of Capsicum
Diaspora: The world via Christopher Columbus. He came looking for (amongst other things) the super-luxe good of the time, black pepper but found the red version. He added the 'pepper' suffix and spread it to rest of the world, including Asia. More recently, specifically and unscientifically, jalapenos have journeyed far and wide thanks to American fast food chains like Chili's.
The kicker: For J junkies, the euphoric high comes from capasaicin, which is also used in pepper spray. The overindulgence cure? Forget water and go for booze or milk, according to folks who know much more than me at Jalapeno Madness.
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2 comments:
i love reading this blog! thank you brooklynD for spreading this love.
Can we give some love to the Naga Jalokia? The spiciest pepper in the world which hails from the North East addendum of India, also the home of currently fashionable hand-woven totes distinguished by a black and red pattern.
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