Chilli

The origin of chillies is believed to be as old as 7000 B.C. used in Mexico. Chillies were grown and cultivated from 3500 BC. Mexicans used it to spice up their food. Chilli was brought to the rest of the world by Christopher Columbus who discovered America in 1493. Christopher had set from Spain to reach India to bring spices such as pepper back to his country. Christopher not only mistook America for India, but also mistook chilli as the black pepper. That is how the chilli got the name ‘chile pepper.’ He took chile pepper back to Spain where it became a very famous spice.

Chilli spread to rest of the European countries. Chilli became the indispensable spice in European cuisines. Chilli became popular in Portuguese. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco-da-Gama reached Indian shores bringing with him the pungent spice.

Chilli seeds were brought to North America for cultivation. In 1888, experiments began for cross breeding of chilli plants. New breeds of chilli plants were evolved. In 1906, a new variety of chilli, Anaheim, was grown. Soon, more chilli varieties were evolved such as strong breed of Mexican chile.

In 1912, Wilbur L. Scoville, a pharmacist found a new method to measure the pungency of the chilli. This new method came to be known as Scoville Organoleptic Test. Unlike, earlier methods, the Scoville test was subjective and accurate.

There are more than 400 different varieties of chillies found all over the world. The world’s hottest chilli “Naga Jolokia” is cultivated in hilly terrain of Assam in a small town Tezpur, India. Chilli became extremely popular in India after it was first brought to India by Vasco-da-Gama. Chilli found its way in ayurveda, the traditional Indian medical system. According to ayurveda, chilli has many medicinal properties such as stimulating good digestion and endorphins, a natural pain killer to relieve pains.

Today, it is unimaginable to think of India cuisine without the hot spice, chilli. India has become world’s largest producer and exporter of chilli, exporting to USA, Canada, UK, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany and many countries across the world. It contributes 25% of world’s total production of chilli. Some of the hottest chillies are grown in India. Indian chillies have been dominating international chilli market. Majority of chilli grown in India is cultivated in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.

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