For more than ten thousand years, humans have been fascinated by a seemingly innocuous plant with bright-colored fruits that bite back when bitten. Ancient New World cultures from Mexico to South America combined these pungent pods with every conceivable meat and vegetable, as evident from archaeological finds, Indian artifacts, botanical observations, and studies of the cooking methods of the modern descendants of the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs. In Chile Peppers: A Global History, Dave DeWitt, a world expert on chiles, travels from New Mexico across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia chronicling the history, mystery, and mythology of chiles around the world and their abundant uses in seventy mouth-tingling recipes.
Dave DeWitt is a food historian and one of the foremost authorities on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods. He is the author or coauthor of fifty-six books and lives in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife, Mary Jane Wilan.
"Author Dave DeWitt takes readers on a personal tour of the chile-growing and chile-eating countries of the world."--Sandra Dallas, Denver Post
"The book . . . is a culmination of DeWitt's decades researching the fruit. . . . In some ways, the recent book is a capstone project that captures the highlights of his spicy career."--Jason Strykowski, Santa Fe New Mexican
"Folklorists who work in food and foodways will find much of interest in this well-written and ambitious attempt to put chiles in world perspective, including the history of chiles, the development of chile cuisines, the botany of chiles, and the celebration of chiles in festival."--William Hansen, Journal of Folklore Research
"In his delicious new book, veteran Albuquerque author / food historian Dave DeWitt takes readers on journeys around the world to explore and meet the multitude of chile varieties that exist."--David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal
"DeWitt's magnum opus book of the spiciest proportions."--Alex De Vore, Santa Fe Reporter
"Food historian Dave DeWitt carries serious chile cred."--Kate Nelson, New Mexico Magazine
"An impressively comprehensive and informative study tracing the domestic cultivation of wild chile to the development of heat indexes and ratings for the chile, and so much more."--Susan Bethany, Midwest Book Review
"Dave DeWitt is one of America's most scientifically literate journalists, and reading of his travels is always an adventure."--Gary Paul Nabhan, author of Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity
"Fascinating, very informative, and a delight to read. I wanted to rush to the kitchen to try all the recipes, too."--Sharon Hudgins, author of T-Bone Whacks and Caviar Snacks: Cooking with Two Texans in Siberia and the Russian Far East
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One. The Domestication of the Wild Chile
Chapter Two. New World Chile Cuisines, Part 1: The Caribbean
Chapter Three. New World Chile Cuisines, Part 2: Latin America
Chapter Four. The Spicy US States
Chapter Five. Paprika and Europe
Chapter Six. Africa Loves the Bird's Eye
Chapter Seven. The Country of Curries
Chapter Eight. Record Heat in Asia
Chapter Nine. Hot Means Healthy
Chapter Ten. Chiles Become Legendary
Sources
Index
Also Of Interest
