"Bird Pepper" Illustration, 1858

The Great Chile Pepper Health Debate

Dave DeWitt Chiles and Health Leave a Comment

If you’ve read some of the other articles in the Chiles and Health section of the SuperSite, you’re probably aware of just how contentious the debates have been, especially when chile peppers are accused of causing health problems like cancer and ulcers.  They don’t of course, but the debate about the healing properties versus the “damaging” aspects of chile pods …

Botanical Illustration from Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1887

The Virtues of Pepper, 1861

Dave DeWitt Chile History Leave a Comment

Editor’s Note: I found this interesting chile food history article while doing numerous complicated word searches in Google Books, a treasure trove of buried culinary information going back hundreds of years. I have provided the historical illustrations. –Dave DeWitt “The Virtues of Pepper, 1861” Article in The Floral World and Garden Guide, Volume 4. London: Groombridge and Sons, 1861. Cayenne …

Chili Peppers, 1885

19th Century Chile Varieties in London and Paris

Dave DeWitt Historical Gardening Leave a Comment

Grown in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, 1832: Chili Peppers: Yellow Tree Capsicum, Red Chile, Small Red Chile, Tree Capsicum, Piment Longue Petit Tardif, Long Chile from the East Indies, Long Chile, Long Red Chile, Black Chile, Piment Violet, Indian Small Red, Cayenne Pepper. Large Long Yellow, Piment Gros, Capsicum Paprika, Short Red, Piment Cerise, Tall Cherry Red, …