by Dave DeWitt Christopher Columbus “discovered” chile peppers in the West Indies on his first voyage to the New World. In his journal for 1493, he wrote, “Also there is much Aji, which is their pepper, and the people won’t eat without it, for they find it very wholesome. One could load fifty caravels a year with it in Hispaniola.” …
The Taming of the Wild Chile: Part 2, Pre-Columbian Chile Customs and Kitchens
by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach Recipes: Chicken in Red Pipian Sauce Tamales Negros Tlaloc-Chile Stew Chiles were the major spice of the New World and played a role similar to that of black pepper in the Old World; ancient New World cultures from Mexico to South America combined the pungent pods …
The Taming of the Wild Chile: Part 1, The Tolerated Weed
by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach Recipes: Corn and Potatoes with Two Chiles Papas con Tomates Squash Soup with Chile Sauce “The fruit [of the Peruvian Uchu chile] is as indispensable to the natives as salt to the whites.” ‑‑Friedrich Alexander von Humboldt, 1814 For more than 10,000 years, mankind has been …
Heat Scale Updated
by Dave DeWitt In 1989, with the help of Dr. Ben Villalon of the Texas A&M Agricultural Experiment Station and Dr. Paul W. Bosland of New Mexico State University’s Department of Plant and Environmental Science, I compiled and published the first chile heat scale in Chile Pepper magazine. The heat scale proved to be enormously popular and was reprinted (sometimes …
Pepper Jack and Other Chile Cheeses
By Dave DeWitt and Harald Zoschke Illustration & Photos (except Jacks) by Harald Zoschke Recipes Hot Tortilla Wheels Tex-Mex Cheese Soup Pepper Cheese and Mustard Bread Hot Chile Cheese Ball Chile Cheese Pie Breakfast Grilled Chile Cheese Sandwich Pepper Jack Chicken Pizza On October 16, 2001, New York-based artist Cosimo Cavallaro dramatically demonstrated his love for chile cheese by covering …