Pepper, peppers and pepper spice

[hypatia42]

Peppers. This topic came up recently on an email list I’m on. I asked a question that was apparently less clear than it could have been, or far too specific. PIC has decided I know too much. I do have a degree in Horticulture. I paid a lot of money to know too much about this.

Still, not the point. I found all sorts of interesting things out in trying to clarify my question. I think most people know that peppercorn and peppers are different plants. It’s easy to tell that the black or white pepper that people put on the table as a condiment is not related to peppers of any kind. *Apparently, after speaking with Intern 2.0, this is not common knowledge and I do know too much about this.* Additionally, spices that most people consider in the pepper realm like turmeric and cumin, aren’t. I found out that those two are different plants from each other and from peppers. Apparently one of them is a type of ginger, which is more closely related to grass than peppers. How fun! So it gets its spicy from the same thing that gives wasabi its spicy.

Turmeric is really good for you and has been linked to a decrease in incidence of alzheimers. Capsicum, from peppers, is also really good for you. It is a fabulous anti-inflammatory, internally and topically, has anti-viral properties, and is good for cleaning out the blood.

Bell peppers? Housing the strongest flavor compound known to man. One drop in an olympic size pool and it will be detectible. This flavor compound is apparently what gives Cabernet Sauvignon its distinctive flavor. It might also be why I don’t like Cabs since I don’t like bell peppers.

Most of this information I already had in my head. The only new fun bit I found was the ginger relation. Maybe they’re right about having too much info. I tend to assume people have a lot of the same info I have. I find that I hate it when people assume I don’t know something. Perhaps I need to rethink this. But assuming that people don’t know can be so demeaning.

Comments

[theslice.livejournal.com]

Mmm.. I love peppers of all kinds.

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

hmmm... i know all that too (except for the cabernet/bell pepper thing - weird), but then i know food stuff that many people don't know.

there's a trick or two to speaking with someone and assuming s/he is smart and capable while not assuming s/he knows what you're talking about. unfortunately, i don't know what those tricks are. i do try to keep the balance in mind, however.

[nkcmike.livejournal.com]

So, which one is a type of ginger? I use cumin a lot; turmeric less so.

And, I remember that salsa de ají (LOADED with capsicum) was supposedly a treatment for intestinal amoebas. I never bought into that theory.

[hypatia42.livejournal.com]

Turmeric is the ginger relative. Curcumin is apparently derived from it. Not sure if cumin and curcumin are the same or even close.

[coyotegrrrl.livejournal.com]

Hah! I *knew* there was a reason bell peppers were the devil!

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

And the only thing on the list I can eat is the peppercorn. :-/

[hypatia42.livejournal.com]

Which is sad. Not only do they impart fabulous flavor but I found this; http://www.iovs.org/cgi/reprint/46/6/2092.pdf

[faedaughter.livejournal.com]

Ah but parika *is* related to peppers. And ironically even though capsicum is good for you, the toxins in nightshades can be very bad for people with arthritis and such because the toxins *increase* inflamation.... maybe it all comes out in the wash? :p

And you can dye things a really pretty shade of yellow with Turmeric.

Ah trivia, isn't it grand? Didn't the Greeks have a Goddess by that name?

[hypatia42.livejournal.com]

Yes they did. I believe it was another name for Hecate though. Tri-via, three ways. Crossroads sort of thing. Might be fun to look into it.