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All hot pepper varieties, existing in the world today, trace their origin from the wild ancestors of tropical America. The tropical belt covers Central and almost all of South America. It is believed that dishes cooked with hot pepper warm and tone up. The American Indians used hot peppers as an anthelmintic.
Do not immediately rush to use the "means of Indian traditional medicine." Natural selection affects not only animals but also humans. Just as over the centuries of consuming fermented products (wine), the white man was able to acquire an increased resistance to alcohol, so the gastrointestinal tract of South American Indians, as well as their pancreas, are likely to have increased resistance to capsaicin: a burning substance found in hot peppers. Today's American worms, by the way, are also probably resistant to dishes containing this seasoning.
Therefore, it is worth listening to doctors who say that excessive consumption of hot peppers is harmful to the stomach.
During the spread of hot pepper around the world, many varieties of this plant were bred with varying degrees of pungency.
Scoville scale
To order plants, spices and pure chemicals according to the degree of pungency, the chemist Scoville proposed "Scale of pungency", according to which the quantitative content of capsaicin in the product is estimated today.
On this scale, bell peppers are in last place, having zero Scoville Units (ECU). In the first place is Resiniferatoxin, which has nothing to do with peppers (contained in two types of milkweed) and is a poisonous substance, but on a scale of 16 billion units. All hot peppers are located between these two positions.
According to this scale, today the hottest kind of pepper - "Karolinska reaper", which broke the record for Trinidad scorpions in 2013. The pungency of the Karolinska Reaper can be up to 2.2 million ECU.
The "Caroline Reaper" is used for medical and military purposes.
In second place is the "Scorpion of Trinidad Moruga Blend"with from 1.2 million to 2 million ECU.
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend
A newly developed variety that broke the record of its predecessor Trinidad Scorpion Butch T in 2000 and is now in second place. Pepper got its name "scorpion" for its small tail. "Trinidad", because it was on the island of Trinidad that these varieties were bred.
When growing and processing such burning plants, it is necessary to wear chemical protection suits and gas masks. It is used not as a spice, but for the production of tear gas and paint that protects the bottom of the ship from shellfish.
Third place divided into two varieties. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T - a relative of the record holder, also growing in Trinidad and grown for the same purposes as Moruga. Its pungency reaches 1.9 million units.
Naga jolokia Is a natural natural hybrid originating in India. Its second name is "pepper - ghost". In terms of severity, it is practically not inferior to Trinidad scorpions.
Apart from the industry, these varieties are of interest only to fans of the competition "who will be able to swallow more hot peppers in a minimum period of time." Less hot vegetables are used for food. Although Jolokia varieties are used to make sauce, it is minimally added to dishes in minimal quantities.
Among the "edible" varieties of hot peppers, the peppers of the Habanero group are in the first place in terms of hotness. The most burning among them is "Krasnaya Savina".
Those wishing to try a dish with this pepper first sign a waiver of claims about the consequences of tasting.
If you need not only sharp, but also decorative pepper for growing at home, you can stop at the Chinese decorative five-color pepper.
In the process of ripening, the fruits change color. This also helps to determine the degree of ripeness of the fruit, since the harvest is uncomfortable. When ripe, the fruit changes color from purple to red.
For some reason, the word "purple" is usually associated with the red scale, in fact it is the violet spectrum of colors.
Hot pepper. On a scale, its pungency is 30-60 thousand units. For comparison, the pungency of the classic Tobasco sauce is only 2.5-5 thousand.
On the scale of hotness, this pepper is on a par with the Cayenne group and, most likely, also belongs to this group. The fact is that "Cayenne pepper" is not a variety, but a group of hot pepper varieties. Another name for this group of varieties is "Chile". Today the term "chili" is applied to all hot peppers.
Since edible peppers begin after the first three varieties of raw materials for poisonous gases, lovers of spicy dishes can already choose for themselves the best varieties of hot peppers that they would like to grow on their site or even in an apartment.
Spicy and semi-spicy varieties of peppers
Spicy varieties include varieties that have from 7 thousand to 5 million units on the Scoville scale. Among the spicy varieties are the most famous ones such as the Habanero group, the Cayenne group, the Thai group.
"Cayenne"
Often under the name "Cayenne" is understood well-known to all residents of the post-Soviet space, rather large long fruits of red capsicum. In fact, it has a fairly low degree of pungency.
It is from these varieties that the spice of the same name is produced. The fruits are well dried, seeds and veins are removed from them, and the pulp is ground into powder.
The shape of the fruits in the "Cayenne" group can vary from long to spherical, size from large to small. The color of ripe fruits can be red, white, black, purple, yellow. Unripe fruits are purple or green.
The only common symptom is that the pericarp contains little moisture.
"Chili" today is called almost any pepper that is sharper than Bulgarian, so this group often includes semi-sharp varieties of pepper.
TO peninsular include having a nonzero number of units. Actually, only sweet bell peppers do not contain capsaicim and are neither semi-hot nor spicy.
Anaheim
It is one of the peninsula.
This is a large pepper variety that can be used for grilling or stuffing. Fruits of this variety can be red or green in color. Both options can be eaten. At the same time, green is less pungent, but it has a richer chemical composition.
It can be kept in the refrigerator for a week. For longer storage, it must be frozen.
Ways to use hot peppers
Small fresh pods are fried in a skillet until tender. Previously, if necessary, it is necessary to remove the seeds and veins. If the peel is too thick, peel it off too.
Larger ones can be baked in the oven over high heat or scorched on a gas burner until black. The purpose of the manipulation is to remove the skin.
The way of storage depends to some extent on the size of the fruit.
Freezing
Fried pods are subjected to the procedure. If it is necessary to freeze fresh ones, then they are first dipped in boiling water for three minutes, after which they are cooled and frozen. You do not need to remove the peel from frozen peppers; during thawing, it will move away by itself.
Drying
Peppers are dried in the sun, from which the pods acquire a richer hue and wrinkle. Dried peppers are most often ground into powder, after removing the cup. If you wish, you can put it whole in the dish.
In addition to preparing the powder, dried peppers are strung on a rope and the pepper bunches are hung from the ceiling, thus preserving it for the winter.
Soak
There is another little known way to preserve small hot peppers with a high degree of pungency. The pods are placed in a screw-top jar and filled with water. Very quickly, the water is soaked in the capsaicin released from the seeds. As a result, no bacteria survive in such an environment.
All this is good, but the gardener first of all cares about which variety of hot pepper to choose for growing it in the garden. And he is more worried about the yield and adaptability of pepper to the conditions of the region, and not about its pungency. The burnt receptors on the tongue are unlikely to be able to distinguish the taste of Habanero from Tobasco.
The most productive varieties of hot peppers. With photo
Twinkle
In the post-Soviet space, it is known so much that its name is already becoming a household name, like the name "chile".
This is a plant with long large fruits of a classic shape. The weight of the fruits is thirty - forty-five grams, and the yield reaches three kilograms per square meter in an open garden, which is very much, given the amount of product consumed at a time. In a greenhouse, bushes can produce almost four kilograms of fruit per meter.
The variety is mid-season, a bush forty-five to fifty-five centimeters high. Resistant to common diseases.
Tonus 9908024
Another time-tested high-yielding variety.
Medium early. The fruit is large, long, weighing fifteen grams. The average yield is three and a half kilograms. Fruits can be harvested as ripe (red) or at the stage of technical ripeness, that is, still green. This variety has a peculiarity: fruits directed downwards and slightly wrinkled leaves. Resistant to many viral diseases.
Pepper is considered a southern plant, so there is a belief that in the northern regions it can only grow in a greenhouse. In Siberia, and even more so, they began to grow it only forty-five years ago. Accordingly, Russian gardeners do not seek to allocate sown areas for this crop. But in vain. There are already varieties bred for cultivation in the open field of Russia.
Astrakhan 147
An old variety known in the Soviet Union. Created and zoned for the southern regions of the Union in Volgograd in 1943. Produces about thirty very small and pungent fruits. The pepper does not weigh more than twenty-four grams.
Astrakhan 628
This is a completely different variety, created in Maykop, but also intended for cultivation in the south. This type of pepper weighs only fourteen grams. Often these two varieties are confused, which explains the different size of the fruits of the allegedly one variety.
Elephant trunk 304
Already the Trans-Urals should pay attention to it. Also the brainchild of the Maykop station. The variety is intended for cultivation in the Far East. A distinctive feature is the presence of a violet pigment. The pepper bush in the internodes is purple-brown in color.
The variety is mid-season. It belongs to the peninsular. The fruit is long, conical, somewhat curved. Length up to nineteen centimeters with a mass of up to twenty-five grams. Productivity up to one and a half kilograms per square meter.
Decorative varieties are gaining popularity.These are perennial evergreens shrubsthat can grow with a lack of light.
For example, "Goldfinger" is not edible according to all sources, but information on "Filius Blue" varies. Better not to take risks and eat culinary varieties.
Decorative variety "The Queen of Spades"
The bush is spherical. Fully ripe fruits are red, unripe purple.
Filius blue
The pepper has an interesting purple color. Bears fruit abundantly. The fruit has a very pungent taste. But the edibility of this variety is questionable.
Goldfinger
A beautiful and original looking variety, but, alas, the fruits are not edible.
Ryabinushka
The fruit is round, up to two and a half centimeters in diameter. Used to make paprika.
Conclusion
It seems to a novice gardener that varieties of hot peppers very little. Often, in general, people only know one. But you should take a closer look and your eyes run up from the abundance of varieties of hot pepper.
