6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in
6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in 6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in
PLANT PROFILE | Capsicum CanStockPhoto 18 | Good Organic Gardening
Capsicum | PLANT PROFILE The sweeter pepper Capsicum, though a close relative of the fiercer chilli we use in curries, is a mild, tasty fruit with more tang than sting The history of the capsicum — that summer garden star of salads and ratatouille, second only to the tomato — is one of confusion, not least because, like its nightshade cousin tomato, the capsicum is botanically a fruit but in the kitchen is regarded as a vegetable. Capsicum annuum, known down under and on the Indian subcontinent by its botanical name (from the Latin capsa or box, in reference to its shape), is called a pepper almost everywhere else — and therein lies even more confusion. When Christopher Columbus introduced this New World delight to Europe in 1493, any pungent condiment was called “pepper”, including of course Piper nigrum, also known as the peppercorn, which had already found its way west via the Spice Routes. Here’s where it gets interesting. Columbus’s original intention had been to find an alternative sea route to Asia and its precious spices. With the mild, sweet capsicum, he also brought back the Mexican chilli, an ancient, fiery relative of the capsicum that was little enjoyed in Europe but found an enthusiastic welcome in Asia and North Africa. Now here was a pepper that out-peppered pepper. So what the Americans know as bell pepper or sweet pepper and the Europeans call pimiento or paprika is in fact the very un-peppery capsicum, so “cool” it rates only 0–600 units on the Scoville scale of heat. Compare these other members of the Capsicum family: Jalapeño comes in at 3500–10,000, Habanero and Birds Eye reach an eye-watering 100,000–350,000 and India’s Naga Jolokia soars northwards of a fearsome million units. Varieties We’re all familiar with green and red capsicums but the fruit comes in many colours, from yellow and orange to purple and even brown. Most capsicums are fat and bell-shaped — hence the name bell pepper All in the family According to the website of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, the Capsicum family comprises “a bewildering variety of colourful and spicy fruits” with more than 200 common names and possibly several thousand varieties and cultivars: “Nobody knows exactly how many ... because existing varieties cross-pollinate easily.” While varieties are classified on their fruit shapes, the website notes, “Capsicum annuum can be difficult to separate from the cultivated C. chinense (the hottest pepper) and C. frutescens (Tabasco pepper) and their morphological features can overlap. These three species share the same ancestral gene pool and are sometimes called the ‘annuum-chinense-frutescens complex’.” The best rule of thumb is: if you can’t stand the heat, keep them out of the kitchen. Good Organic Gardening | 19
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PLANT PROFILE | Capsicum<br />
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