• Does Pepper Spray Really Work?
  
• Why Do Hot Chile Peppers Burn You Twice?
  
• Things Not To Do With A Pepper Spray Can!
  
• Which Chile Peppers Are The Most Painful?
  
• Are Black Peppers Related To Chile Peppers?
  
• Was Columbus Searching For Chile Peppers?      
  
• Did Columbus Know East From West?

Depending on the brand, pepper sprays generally contain about 18% oil of capsicum from a very hot variety of chile pepper (Capsicum frutescens) or a related species. The active ingredient causing the intense burning pain is the alkaloid capsaicin (cap-SAY-sin). So potent is the alkaloid that one millionth of a drop can be detected by the human tongue. Capsaicin is not broken down during the digestion process--this is why you often get burned several hours later after dining on chile peppers. Like other alkaloids in the chemical arsenal of plants, capsaicin may serve to discourage mammalian fruit predators. Botanists believe that birds are immune to the burning sensation of capsaicin, and may serve to disperse the seeds. Capsaicin may prevent hungry mammals from devouring the fruits, so that they can be eaten by fruit-eating birds who are attracted to bright red fruits. Passing through the bird's digestive tract relatively unharmed, the small seeds are dispersed to other favorable regions.

According to D. Dewitt and P. W. Bosland (Peppers of the World: An Identification Guide, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California, 1996), there are 5 species of Capsicum peppers native to the New World: C. pubescens, C. baccatum, C. annuum, C. frutescens and C. chinense. The hottest chile peppers belong the C. chinense group, including the notorious habanero. Although this species is named "chinense," it is not from China. Actually, its center of origin is thought to be the Amazon Basin of South America. If you are interested in the identification and distribution of these marvelous species, please refer to the book by Dewitt and Bosland. It includes beautiful color photos of the numerous varieties of all five species.

Assorted Peppers: A. Bell Pepper B. Hungarian Hot Wax C. Habanero D. Jalapeño E. Cayenne F. Serrano

Sweet Peppers: A. Bell Pepper B. Sweet Banana C. Pimento

Hot Peppers: A. Anaheim B. Hungarian Wax C. Jalapeño D. Carribean E. Habanero F. Cayenne G. Super Chile H. Serrano

For serious pepper connoisseurs, there is a simple taste test that measures the tongue-scorching capsaicin content of these fruits. The highest capsaicin concentration is found in the placental region where the seeds are attached. Originally, human laboratory animals were "asked" to taste a series of peppers and rate their hotness. Since veteran pepper eaters tended to be desensitized to the intense heat, the test was performed on people who were not regular pepper eaters. The amount of heat is expressed in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). Science is ever-changing, and a new quantitative technique called High Performance Liquid Chromatography has been developed to measure the concentration of capsaicin in Scoville Heat Units. Bell peppers have a value of zero because they are homozygous recessive and lack the dominant gene for capsaicin production. Jalapenos and cayenne varieties may vary from 3,500 to 35,000 SHUs, and ripe tabasco peppers flame in at 50,000 SHUs. With values of 200,000 to 300,000, habanero peppers can be absolutely excruciating. A heavy duty pepper spray unit (resembling a small fire extinguisher) sold in Montana for grizzly bear protection has a SHU rating of two million.

The historical spice pepper of the Middle Ages refers to the black pepper (Piper nigrum ) which belongs to a completely different plant family (chile peppers belong to the tomato family or Solanaceae while black peppers belong to the Piperaceae). The native distribution of this tropical vine is southern India, Ceylon and Malaysia. The dried, black, seed-bearing berries (called peppercorns) are ground up and used as seasoning. [Peppercorns have also been used as a nonlethal but painful replacement for lead pellets in shotgun shells.] In white pepper, the black husk is removed and the inner white seeds are ground up. In 1492 Columbus set out from Spain for the "Spice Islands" of the East Indies, but instead he ended up in the Caribbean region. Just as the West Indies were named because Columbus was searching for India, so the New World capsicum pepper was called "red pepper" because the crew was hoping to find the valuable spice pepper. With all due respect to Captain Columbus, this remarkable story makes you wonder about his navigational skills.