Why are chili peppers hot?

[randy_byers]

A research group including people from the University of Washington have released a study indicating that the capsaicinoid chemicals that make peppers hot are a defense system against fungi that threaten the plants' seeds. Another interesting point of the study is that birds aren't put off by capsaicin and thus will swallow the seeds and deposit them elsewhere with a bit of fertilizer. Furthermore, the researchers argue that people started adding chilis to their food as a way of preserving it, much like salt was used initially. Chilis are yet another plant that originated in South America and have spread into cuisines around the world via Europe.

However, I will say that there's a bit to much pathetic fallacy in this article, such as, "The plant wants the right critter to eat the fruit." I'd say that what's fascinating about plants is that they evolve these intricate systems without actually having any wants!

Comments

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Ha! That's a good point about chilies being more common in the tropics, although because of their love of curry, England is not as good an example as Minnesota. Plus the fact that curry has become an English dish points to the fact that peppers can be imported.

[wrdnrd]

I suppose it all comes down to the era the guy is looking at in his research. If we're talking within the past 200-300 years, then the effects of colonialism certainly need to be taken into account. If we're talking about much earlier food habits, then i think England is still a reasonable example. As always, there's just so much more to the original research than the news article has room to tell us. That's one thing i'd never want to be: a science reporter. "There's so much cool stuff going on in this research, and you want me to trim it to *how* many inches?!"

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

One of the things that had never occurred to me is that European colonialism resulted, indirectly, in spicy Thai and Chinese food. But that's of course true of many other things as well, including peanuts. I mean, what's more Thai than peanut sauce? But it's not a plant native to Thailand.

Agreed about science reporting, for newspapers especially. I thought this was one of the better ones I'd seen lately, because it was a little longer than usual, with more details. Loved the tidbit about peppers and cow pastures!