Botanical name: Capsicum annum L
DescriptionTechnically, chili peppers are a fruit. Once dried, they are considered a spice. The dried chilli pepper is the ripe fruit of brownish-red to red species of plant capsicum. The fruit is eaten cooked or raw for its fiery hot flavour which is concentrated along the top of the pod. The stem end of the pod has glands which produce the capsaicin, which then flows down through the pod. Removing the seeds and inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a pod.Whole dried chili peppers vary in length, red to brownish red in color. These are warm and
peppery, having intense pungent flavor with a biting hot, sharp and cumulative lingering effect.
Usage
It is the main spice ingredient for cooking curry meat and spicy food. In Pakistan, chilies are used in flavouring foods and in marinades for meat and prawns before barbecuing or grilling.
Attributed Medical Properties
Aside from their eye-opening flavour, perhaps the most surprising feature of chili pepper is their vitamin C content: 91 milligrams in 1/4 cup of fresh chilies. Though we don't eat chili peppers in large quantities, the amount of vitamin C is still significant. Red chiles are full of beta-carotene. The nutritional aspect of hot peppers most interesting to researchers today, however, is capsaicin, the compound that gives chiles their "burn." Capsaicin seems to have a positive effect on blood cholesterol, and also works as an anticoagulant. And the "high" that some people experience when eating fiery chile-spiked foods is a perfectly safe one: Some scientists theorize that in response to the discomfort produced by the chiles' "burn," the brain releases endorphins, substances that, at high levels, can create a sensation of pleasure.
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