Chilli Origins

One of the most common types of chillies, known as the capsicum, is thought to have been in existence millions of years ago in present-day Bolivia, according to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Information and Resources. But, the first known cultivation of peppers happened in Mexico and Central, as well as South America 10,000 years ago. The probable spread of these crops from Bolivia to these areas is attributed to birds. The capsicums existed mainly in the Americas until about 1600. Christopher Columbus’ voyages were helpful in spreading capsicum peppers throughout the world.

The original peppers were tiny and round, unlike most of today’s peppers which are long and larger.

What can I do with chillies?

Most commonly, peppers have been used to spice up generally boring foods like rice or corn. Through the years though, people have come up with a whole slew of uses for peppers from making pepper jelly, to using ornamental peppers for garlands. Here’s a list of the most interesting as well as some of the more common uses for peppers:

Pickled Peppers
Pepper Jelly – Dried Apricot Jalapeno Jelly
Roasted chillies
Adding Peppers to pasta dishes
Hot Sauce
Pepper Garlands/Decorations
Using peppers in stir fry
Pepper vinegar
Pepper spray (animal deterrent for plants)

Many types of chilli seeds are available to buy these days and are quite easy to grow.

What are the different chili varieties?

There all sorts of classifications for peppers. There is the scientific classification method that uses the genus and species name: The most commonly known and cultivated genus of peppers is the capsicum, whereas the five most common species of peppers (all within the capsicum category) include: chinense, frutescens, pubescens, annum, and baccatum. All of these types of peppers are also labelled chillies.

There is the usage method which categories various peppers into hot, sweet, or ornamental. And then, there is the location-classified method that is what gives some peppers its actual name.

Here’s a basic list of some of the varieties of the mentioned species of peppers you might see in your local grocery stores:

Bell pepper
Anaheim pepper
Fresno
Poblano
Habanero
Cubanelle
Chipotle
Jalapeno
Serrano
Mariachi

Aside from the different colored bell peppers used in stirfry, many of these other peppers are considered hot peppers.

How can you tell how hot a chilli is?

The range of spiciness for peppers is measured in scoville units. Wilbur Scoville developed a scale to help determine this very issue and measure pepper pungency in 1912. The higher the number of scoville units, the hotter the pepper. Here’s a basic Scoville Scale. that shows habaneros trumping chipotles and jalapenos as the most commonly known hottest pepper.

Health Effects

Regular pepper consumption is thought to have both good and bad effects on one’s health. One of the most clear effects of eating peppers is what it does for congestion. Eating peppers, especially those hot ones, will help clear up your nasal passages in no times (as will most spicy foods!)

According to a University study, consuming peppers regularly can help the body control its amount of insulin, which would be very beneficial for diabetics. Other studies show though that pepper digestion can increase the risks of stomach cancer, but the definite answer remains unclear. Research has also been linking peppers to helping stop the spread of prostrate cancer in some men.

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Hoooooooo boy. I love my All-Clad 12″ Stainless Steel Frying Pan. Not many days go by when this workhorse isn’t on the stove in my kitchen at some point. It makes omelettes, fritatas, scrambled eggs, fried eggs … and that’s just breakfast duty! By the end of the day it has probably sauteed some veggies, too.

All-Clad pans aren’t cheap. From the costly metals to the no-compromise manufacturing processes, these are first-class all the way, and they cook like a dream. So you can imagine my horror when food mysteriously started sticking to my pan — and I don’t mean “a couple of crumbs”. Omelettes that used to slide out perfectly to be plated suddenly were glued in place.

What was I doing wrong? Nothing had changed. “Oil the pan before you heat it.” Done. “Use low to medium heat.” Done. I even wondered if I had changed brands of olive oil, butter, etc … but no, that was all the same too.

Off I went (in, for me, a rare outburst of “reading the manual”) to the All-Clad site to look up “use and care.” There I read, “Is Sticking A Problem?” Yes! Here comes the answer!! The FIRST question was …. “Is Your Stove Level?” Huh??

Here’s how much I wanted my pan back — probably some measure of the passion All-Clad users have for the product — I actually went traipsing out to the garage to find a level to check. Could … this … be …. the ……… answer??

Nope.

Next step … let’s have an up close and personal look at the surface of my pan. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …… what’s this? Little scratches all over the place.

Okay, so I know enough about adhesives to know that when you want something to stick, you rough up the surface. Could something have happened to the surface of my pan that was causing this?? Well — only one way to find out. Change (gulp) the surface.

I realize the arrogance involved here. A rank do-it-yourselfer reworking the work of masters is typically a recipe for disaster. Believe me, it was not without a heaping tablespoon of fear that I commenced the attack. However, I had passed through the five stages of grief about this pan and had come to grips with the fact that it had been rendered useless as a cooking utensil and was too heavy to use as a flyswatter.

Here was the recipe that worked. I used valve grinding compound. That’s a fairly strong abrasive paste used in rebuilding car engines. You can find it at your local auto parts store, and I’d recommend you get the kind that is water soluble. (It also comes suspended in grease, but that’s NOT as pleasant to work with, and you will be having a somewhat lengthy dalliance with this stuff.)

I took the pan firmly in hand, sat courageously in front of the television and spent about a half hour polishing and polishing the surface of the pan with valve compound applied to a soft cloth. I worked in large circles, trying to match what looked like the original machining marks on the pan. During the commercials I’d go out to the kitchen, wash the valve compound off the surface, and have a look. After about a half hour of polishing, it was approaching a mirror surface. Good enough for a try!

In goes the oil, up goes the heat, in goes the egg …… VICTORY!

So why did my formerly awesome pan start sticking, anyway? Maybe someone cleaned it with a non-recommended abrasive somewhere along the way, and made scratches just large enough to create a “nice” sticky surface. Or maybe I got too aggressive with a metal spatula one night. Most likely, someone burned something in the pan and grabbed some oven cleaner to loosen it up. Oven cleaner + stainless steel = pitted stainless steel. Re-polishing the surface removed those almost microscopic scratches and restored the pan to full function.

Who would have thought you could solve a culinary problem in an auto parts store?

About the Author

Michael Burnette writes about food and related subjects at All-Clad, the global community of friends who love to cook.

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Sales have been slowing at national restaurant chains like Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, and the Cheesecake Factory recently due to the increase in gas prices.

To make matters worse, more and more people are discovering that they can save money by making their favorite restaurant dishes at home following the step by step instructions of Master Chef Ron Douglas.

The so called “secret recipes” of these billion dollar restaurants have now been exposed and shared with the world in the cooking instructional guide “America’s Secret Recipes.”

For details, go to:
Secret Recipes

Douglas is facing major pressure to take down his site and discontinue all sales of his secret recipe cookbooks.  But he continues to thumb his nose at the greedy restaurant executives in support of the budget constrained home cook.

Anyone looking to duplicate their favorite restaurant recipes should pick up “America’s Secret Recipes” now before it’s forced off the market.  Go to:

Secret Recipes

Finally you can:

- Stop waiting on those long lines at restaurants to pay for dishes you can quickly make in your own kitchen!

- Re-create your favorite restaurant dishes at home for a fraction of the cost by following these easy step-by-step instructions.

- Get kudos and praise from friends and family members when they find out you actually made these delicious dishes yourself!

- Uncover the cooking techniques used by world class chefs from famous restaurants.

Discover the secrets to making your favorite restaurant recipes at home – go to:

Secret Recipes

The Saladmaster waterless cookware line is by far the most popular in the realm of waterless cookware today. This company has been around since 1994, even though you may have only recently heard of the waterless cooking technology. Saladmaster produces nothing less than 7-ply surgical stainless steel products; the best of the best when it comes to cookware. The main problem with this brand is that they are not sold in conventional retailers or online. You can only find brand new Saladmaster products through conventions, fairs or at home demonstration parties. This limits your ability to find Saladmaster products. This also allows them to charge a lot more for their cookware sets.

There are many different sets for sale within the Saladmaster waterless cookware line; the biggest set can sell for $3,000. Obviously, this brand of waterless cookware is by far one of the most expensive on the market today and for many people can be simply out of reach for their financial situation. The main reason Saladmaster is able to sell their products for such a high price is because of the materials used to create them. This company prides themselves in being the only company utilizing 316Ti surgical stainless steel. This is different from 304 surgical stainless steels because it contains a higher percentage of nickel than the average waterless cookware piece.

The added Molybdenum provides a better overall protection against corrosion and rust. The problem with 314Ti versus 304 is you cannot tell the difference by simply putting two pots next to each other for a comparison. There is no difference in taste when cooking in each different pot. With this being said consumers have discovered there is little reason to spend the extra money for a higher quality product that produces the same results as what may be considered a lesser quality product.

However, on the other hand the Saladmaster has created an extremely unique feature called Versa Loc Handles. These are handles that are interchangeable; you can switch from short handles to long handles and of course take them off for efficient cleaning. This is an ultimate feature that has yet to be duplicated by any other company in the waterless cookware market.

It can be a hard decision to know whether to spend the extra money for the best of the best. Comparing pros and cons with the other companies you are looking into. Saladmaster offers the unique features, the top of the line surgical stainless steel but if the price is too much you may find leading companies are just as effective for less. Even with a lifetime warranty it can be hard to spend $3,000 on cookware. If however, you have money to spend this is definitely the way to go.

For affordable healthy cookware check our selection of waterless sets at CookForYourHealth.com

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Farmers markets continue to grow in popularity, mostly due to the growing consumer interest in obtaining fresh products directly from the farm. Today, there are more than 4,600 farmers markets operating throughout the nation, even in the hearts of big cities. But how do you find one?

Farmers markets sell locally grown, farm fresh produce, and almost always let you deal directly with the grower who raised the product you’re holding. Want to know the best ways to cook baby bok choy? Ask the person who raised it!

Shop smart, ask a lot of questions, and you’ll find scrumptious, “ripened in the field” quality you just can’t get anywhere else. Farmers markets also often offer rare items you just won’t find at your local supermarket.

Imagine taking home some tomatoes that were ripening on the vine just the day before, nearly as fresh as some you might grow in your own garden. If you’ve never had a tomato that fresh and ripe, you’ve truly never tasted tomato. And that’s just one item you might find. Have you ever tasted Mt. Rainier Fireweed Honey? Blackberry honey? At our local market, one of our local beekeepers often has a table with at least a dozen varieties of honey. And yes, you can even get the honeycomb.

Lots of markets also feature locally made crafts items — in fact, half of the fun of going to farmers markets is the never-ending variety and constantly changing line up of products and vendors. You never know what you’ll find — so don’t go expecting it to be like your local supermarket. You have to have at least a teaspoon of appreciation for being surprised to be a true farmers market fan!

When you buy from farmers markets you’ll also be supporting your local farmers and helping the environment — when you buy food locally, it doesn’t have to be transported hundreds or thousands of miles by truck or train. That’s win/win/win, and we haven’t even talked about the fun and the “meet your neighbors” community building aspects of farmers markets.

Your local farmers market probably doesn’t have a lot of money to promote itself so you may not even know if it exists or where it is. I found two resources that list a lot of them and you can search by your home state or even your zip code. A tip, though — whomever programmed this first web page wasn’t thinking like a user, so if you don’t check “ALL” for “payments accepted”, you’ll get no results for your state.

This is the URL for the USDA’s site that lists (and promotes) farmers markets:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets

And this site lists not only farmers markets, but roadside stands, “pick your own” farms and more.

http://www.localharvest.org/

The author of one of my favorite cookbooks, (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), Deborah Madison also wrote a great book about the joys, benefits and how-to’s of farmers markets and buying locally: Local Flavors is a book filled with Deborah’s passion for good food and for life in general.

About the Author

Michael Burnette founded Great2Cook.com, a site devoted to creating a global community of friends who love to cook. Great2Cook.com features almost 2000 free cooking videos.

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