North Africa. In China the chilli is a major
spice in Sichuan and Hunan provinces; in
Europe, Hungary has its paprika and Spain its
pimenton. In the United States, salsas became
more popular than ketchup in the 1980s,
thanks to the influence of Mexican
restaurants. Mexico remains the most
advanced chilli culture, where several
different varieties may be blended to obtain a
particular flavor, and where the substance of
many sauces is contributed by chillis, without
the aid of flavorless flours or starches.
Chillis and Capsaicins There are about 25
species of Capsicum, most natives of South
America, of which five have been
domesticated. Most of our common chillis
come from one species, Capsicum annuum,
which was first cultivated in Mexico at least
5,000 years ago. Chillis are hollow fruits, with
an outer wall rich in carotenoid pigments that
encloses the seeds and the tissue that bears