When exploring the diverse and vibrant cuisines around the globe, it’s hard not to notice the pervasive presence of chili peppers. From the fiery curries of India to the zesty stir-fries of Thailand, chilies seem to be indispensable ingredients. But have you ever paused to consider that these fiery fruits are not originally from Asia, Africa, or Europe? This begs the question: where do peppers originate from?
To unravel this intriguing culinary mystery, we delve into the fascinating world of botany and history, drawing insights from Heather Arndt Anderson, a botanist, historian, and food writer. Anderson, author of Chillies: A Global History, sheds light on the surprising origins and global journey of this fruit that packs a spicy punch.
The Botanical Origins and the Bird Connection
Let’s start with a fundamental question: why are fruits typically sweet and appealing to animals? As Francis Lam, in conversation with Anderson, points out, the sweetness serves an evolutionary purpose. Animals are enticed to eat the fruit, inadvertently becoming seed dispersers as they move and excrete the seeds elsewhere, propagating the plant species.
Francis Lam: “As I understand it, the reason why fruits are sweet and aromatic is because that entices animals to eat them, and then the animals walk away and poop out their seeds somewhere else. So, they propagate the species, right?”
Heather Arndt Anderson: “That’s right.”
Heather Arndt Anderson, botanist and author, headshot.
But chilies defy this conventional wisdom. Their defining characteristic, capsaicin, produces a burning sensation that seems counterintuitive for seed dispersal by mammals. So, what evolutionary advantage does this “heat” offer?
FL: “With chilies what could possibly be the evolutionary advantage to hurt the animals that eat you?”
HAA: “Most fruits do look enticing to animals who spread the seeds, but not all animals are created equal. Mammals taste things differently than birds, and both have a hand in spreading seeds. The thing with birds is that they don’t have capsaicin receptors in their mouths, so they can’t actually taste the spiciness. That’s why birds have played such an important role in spreading chilies, whereas mammals have tended to avoid them – non-human animals I should say.”
This is where the genius of chili peppers lies. Birds, unlike mammals, are immune to the burning sensation of capsaicin. This evolutionary quirk makes birds the perfect allies for chili plants. They can feast on the peppers, spreading the seeds far and wide without experiencing any discomfort. This clever adaptation has allowed chilies to thrive and proliferate.
FL: “That’s genius. The idea that I could choose for an orangutan to eat me and move me like 16 feet, or I can get this bird to eat me and spread my seeds 15 miles from here. I can be all over the place if I can just be styled in a way where only the bird will want to eat me.”
HAA: “That’s right. Chilies have had a real evolutionary advantage in selecting for birds as the propagators of their seed versus mammals.”
The Global Journey of Peppers
Now that we understand the botanical strategy of chili peppers, let’s trace their journey across the globe. As Heather Arndt Anderson confirms, peppers are native to the New World, specifically Mexico, Central America, and South America.
FL: “Famously, peppers are native to the New World: Mexico or Central or South America, somewhere in that area is where they originated. Can you tell us a story of how they then got to the rest of the world?”
HAA: “Columbus made a couple of visits to the New World… The second time, when he came in 1493, that’s when he realized that there was some cool stuff in the New World that he could bring back to Europe. He brought chilies among other things to Spain. And Europeans spread them from Spain to Italy and northward from there. But it was when the Portuguese explorers came to Brazil a few years later and brought the chilies to Goa, in India, that chilies were able to spread to Asia and Africa, to the people who could really do something interesting with them.”
Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the Americas in the late 15th century marked the beginning of chili peppers’ global expansion. While his initial focus was on finding new routes to Asia, his expeditions inadvertently introduced a wealth of New World crops to Europe, including chilies. From Spain, chilies gradually spread across Europe.
However, it was the Portuguese explorers who truly propelled chilies onto the global stage. Venturing to Brazil and establishing trade routes to Goa, India, they facilitated the introduction of chilies to Asia and Africa. These regions, with their vibrant culinary traditions, readily embraced the fiery fruit.
Traditional chili bunches at a market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Cultural Adoption and Culinary Divergence
The adoption of chilies varied across different cultures. While some regions, like South and Southeast Asia, wholeheartedly embraced the spice, others were more hesitant.
FL: “Those are cuisines that are known to be chile forward… Why is it then that there seemed to be some cultures that really took to the chilies and some didn’t as much? … Why is German food not as hot as Thai food?”
HAA: “Germany is an interesting situation because right when chilies were blowing up in Europe, the Protestant Reformation was also happening, so Germans didn’t really want a lot to do with Catholic countries like Spain and Italy… Versus Hungary who had a lot more contact with the Ottomans and with Muslim travelers, and so they were exposed to it more.”
Cultural and historical factors played a significant role in chili adoption. In Europe, the Protestant Reformation and limited contact with Catholic countries like Spain and Italy may have hindered chili’s integration into German cuisine. Conversely, Hungary’s connections with the Ottoman Empire and Muslim travelers exposed them to chilies earlier.
In Asia, the pre-existing spice trade and favorable climate facilitated the rapid integration of chilies into local cuisines. Chilies complemented existing spices like ginger and prickly ash (Sichuan peppercorn) and thrived in the similar climate of South Asia.
East Asia, including Korea and China, received chilies later, via trade routes from India through Southeast Asia. However, the strong culinary exchange between these countries led to swift adoption.
Interestingly, Japan, despite direct contact with the Portuguese, did not widely incorporate chilies into their cuisine, except for a minor presence in shichimi togarashi. The reasons for this remain somewhat enigmatic, possibly linked to climate or specific cultural preferences. Similarly, Portugal, despite their role in spreading chilies, did not deeply integrate them into their own culinary traditions beyond specific dishes like vindaloo and piri piri sauce.
From Fiery to Mild: The Evolution of Sweet Peppers
While we often associate peppers with spiciness, sweet peppers like bell peppers are a testament to human ingenuity in plant breeding. How did we go from fiery chilies to mild, sweet varieties?
FL: “Chilies always had capsaicin, they’ve always had the hot stuff in them. How did sweet peppers come to be?”
HAA: “Hungarians, who were among the first Europeans to truly love chilies, began breeding in the 1800s and were able to slowly develop a chili that was less spicy… Through breeding and experimentation, they were able to find a milder variety, and then they focused their breeding efforts on finding a way to consistently produce this milder chili for their paprika.”
A colorful assortment of habanero peppers.
The transformation from hot to sweet peppers began in Hungary in the 19th century. Hungarian breeders, who were early enthusiasts of chilies in Europe, selectively bred peppers, favoring less spicy variations. Through generations of careful selection and cultivation, they successfully developed milder chili varieties, eventually leading to the sweet peppers we enjoy today. This process, driven by human preference, showcases the remarkable plasticity of plant species and our ability to shape them to our culinary desires.
FL: “And that’s how we eventually got something like a sweet bell pepper.”
HAA: “Yeah. It’s incredible to me how all of the different types of chilies and peppers that we eat today came from a couple of species, and now we have hundreds and hundreds of varieties. Just because humans found one quality that they liked in one little organism and were able to manipulate that into something that would be so different over the course of a few hundred years.”
In Conclusion
The story of peppers is a captivating blend of botany, history, and culinary evolution. Originating in the Americas, these fiery fruits embarked on a global journey, facilitated by birds, explorers, and human ingenuity. From their spicy origins to the development of sweet varieties, peppers have indelibly transformed cuisines worldwide. So, the next time you savor the heat of a chili, remember its remarkable journey from the New World to your plate.
