Habanero Peppers

Habanero peppers shoulder a rich and fiery history, culinary, medicinal, and vanity, renown for its illustrious potent punch. These infamous peppers have staked their claim in the history of numerous countries, and is quickly spreading through advances in transportation to become increasingly common in countries that couldn’t previously grow the prized pepper. Consequently, there is a reason that the cruelly infamous fiery heat of the habanero is so loved by consumers. Not only is it used for medicinal purposes, it releases waves of endorphins in the epicure best described as “scary fun”. Growing, purchasing, and storing the habanero can also be a slippery slope, its high level of moisture giving it the delicate composition of most fruits.

Habanero peppers are one of five domesticated species of peppers and is categorized in the species Capsicum Chinense. It was actually incorrectly named Chinense by a Dutch physician in 1776 while traveling to the Caribbean and collecting plants for the emporer. That crazy Dutch, misguided by common theory of the day, thought that he was in China! This day and age no one is really aware of this blunder, they just refer to the entire species as habaneros, even though just one strand out of the hundreds of Chinense is actually a habanero and is native to the Yucatan region. The habanero is also easily confused with the scotch bonnet, another fiery pepper. Each are native to the Caribbean, Yukatan, and the Northern Coast of South America.

Peppers are rated by their levels of heat using the Scoville system, a heat deciphering model developed in 1912 by a pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville. Since then scientists have altered this measuring technique to include the amount of capsaicin in the pepper. Habaneros are so hot because they contain a high amount of capsaicin, an alkaloid that makes chilis burn the mouth and is also said to act on the endorphin centers of the brain similar to the effect of opiates. This gives one the effect of being on a roller coaster, or as Betty Cortina described them as “scary fun.” Habaneros can range in Scoville units from zero to the hottest, which are now making it up to one million. The test consists of a “liquid chromatography measurement” which measures how many parts per million of capsaicin it contains, scientists then convert this to Scoville Units, which was previously measured by how much liquid dillution is needed to drown out the heat. Capsaicin is very interesting, not only does it fluoresce, but interestingly enough, birds are totally immune to it.

Habaneros are obviously infamous for their heat; it is one of the hottest peppers that exist. Many say that Americans are more interested in heat in their cooking, while Mexicans and Latin Americans are more interested in the taste created by blending a variety of peppers. When handling habaneros it is very important to be careful of the spread of capsaicin, it can get on your fingers which you then spread to your eyes, nose, mouth, etc., many advise that handlers wear gloves. Direct contact with capsaicin can cause poison ivy like symptoms on the skin of its handlers. Make sure that you don’t make the mistake of using water as a heat diffuser when habaneros are burning away at your mouth, dairy products are actually the best way to reduce the heat.

The average habanero pepper plant is one to four and a half feet tall and has white flowers and pale to medium green crinkled leaves. The shapes of the pepper range from pendant and lantern-shaped, to campanulate (flattened bell shape) and most are pointed at the end. The pepper is green at immaturity and can mature to a an array of colors from red to orange to yellow and even white. Habanero peppers can be used raw and stored in a refrigerator for up to two weeks, or frozen, pureed and combined with vinegar, or dried. When a chili dries out it loses nine tenths of its original weight and there is also a noticable change in smell and flavor. Habaneros are often described as having a distinct tropical flavor and even aroma; because of this they are often paired with tropical fruits counteracting its fire with the sweet of the other fruits.When purchasing habanero make sure that the peppers that you choose are not soft and wrinkled. Habanero peppers are extremely high in moisture, they are classified as a fruit, which can make spoilage a problem when shipping. Many growers reduce the amount of moisture in the pepper before shipping to ensure a quality product.

The oldest found pepper of the Chinense dates back to 6,500 BC and was found in Guitarreo Cave on coastal Peru. Domestication of the plant occurred in 2000 BC east of the Andes mountains, and by the 17th century European explorers were roaming the Latin regions that have traditionally grown habaneros and began recording their experiences. Bernabe Cobo, a Spanish naturalist, documented up to forty varieties already existing in the New World. Eventually sugar cane became the cash crop of the region and with that brought the slave trade; and habaneros made their leap off the continent and traveled to Africa and on to the West Indies.

Since habanero peppers have made such a substantial footprint in the history of South America, it only makes sense that it has a variety of uses other than the simple joy of consumption. Dave DeWitt documents the uses for habanero peppers in many ancient and present day civilizations. The Mayans used chili powder as a beauty aid, women would wash their faces with urine, then chili powder, and then would repeat the process. Chili powder also had a darker side with the Mayans, being thrown in girls eyes when looking at boys, and was even thrown on the privates of unchaste women. In the West Indies, they used chili powder to cure baldness, and used parts of the plant for hair dye. Denorex, a common dandruff shampoo, uses chili powder so that users feel a slight irritation on the skin, to make them feel that the shampoo is doing its job. Latin Americans and Mexicans would put hot chili powder on their kids thumbs to keep them from sucking them. Samoans used a concoction of chile seeds as a love and virility potion. The Aztecs would smoke the peppers and hold disobedient boys over the fiery smoke. It was also used for many health treatments; anywhere from vertigo, conjunctivitis, effects of a stroke, earache, cuts in the mouth and on the tongue, sore joints and muscles, fevers, diseases, and even lung problems.

It is clear that habanero peppers play an intricate part in the cultures of many South American societies. Since the pepper is so delicate, there are also precautions that growers, shippers, and purchasers should make to ensure a quality pepper. Not only does it pack a tasty punch of fire, the various medicinal uses for the plant, as well as the chemical reaction it causes in the consumers brain, prove the significance of this imposingly delicate and hellacious fruit.