Chilli Cultivation

Chili Culture 🌶️

Le piment incarne une véritable passion. De l'Amérique latine à l'Asie en passant par l'Afrique, le piment a su conquérir les cuisines et les cœurs des gastronomes audacieux.

Discovery of chilli

The ancestor of the pepper, the piquin pepper was cultivated by the Aztecs. These tested varietal experimentation before the expression even existed and developed species with different colors, sizes and intensities. He quickly conquered all of Central and South America. Christopher Columbus in 1492 not only discovered the Americas, but also peppers! it is therefore thanks to his travels that the chilli was introduced to Europe, and then according to the comings and goings of Spanish and Portuguese explorers, it was distributed in Asia and Africa. It then quickly became a staple in many cuisines around the world: Indian, Mexican, Thai, African, etc. and many varieties of endemic peppers have been developed locally.

Where do hot sauces come from?

Hot sauce was developed by slaves on the American continent. Their cuisine, made from the lower cuts that the owners did not want, lacked taste but not fat... The spicy sauce was there to spice it up, and even today, nothing is better than a fatty dish to accompany a hot sauce, the fat helping to put out the fire.

As chili spread around the world, hot sauce followed. In tropical regions, food preservation was a real issue. However, the natural antimicrobial properties of chili peppers helped preserve food. We therefore added chili peppers to the dishes, thus increasing their shelf life.

Finally, culinary cultures evolve, are enriched by encounters, travel... Each cuisine has developed its own sauces with the condiments, herbs and spices present on site, and from a single ingredient, chili pepper, a multitude were born different sauces,

with more or less marked intensity, in a palette of shimmering colors and flavors typical of local tastes.

A whole world to explore ultimately, and that's where Shilly Shally comes in!

How many varieties of peppers are there?

The pepper or Capsiscum if we consider its small Latin name includes several species or subspecies. It is difficult to give an exact number but there are several hundred, and this figure is constantly changing over the work of breeders and farmers. The varieties of pepper have a whole different color, flavor, intensity, shape and texture and this is what makes all the richness of this world culinary heritage.

Some varieties are known worldwide such as the Jalapeño, the Habanero or the Cayenne pepper, but the vast majority live a peaceful and anonymous life in the countries where they were born. Finally, anonymous, not really, since a brand of 5 hot sauce enthusiasts decided to discover the best peppers in the world and make them accessible to everyone.

Why does the pepper sting?

Peppers sting due to the presence of a molecule, capsaicin. Capsaicin is naturally present in peppers, especially in the seeds. The capsaicin content of chili peppers is directly correlated to the intensity of the spiciness of the latter.

Good to know: Capsaicin sends several messages to our brain

She sends him messages of pain, hence the tingling sensation, or burning, depending on your resistance and the strength of the pepper.

It will also cause the release of endorphins, commonly known as the happiness hormone.

And yes, we told you, the gourmet AND the spicy. Hesitate if you want, you won't be able to resist!

How do you measure the intensity of a pepper? What is the Scoville Scale?

The Scoville scale was established by Wilbur Scoville, an American pharmacologist, in 1912 as part of his research to measure the heat of chili peppers in medicines.

To assess the level of spiciness of a pepper, here is the methodology used. Scoville diluted chilli extract in sugar water and tasted it to a panel of tasters. He continued to dilute the solution until the sensation of heat was no longer detected by the majority of the panel. The number of dilutions needed corresponds to its level on the Scoville scale.

The Scoville scale is still used too and the main peppers are positioned on this scale according to their intensity. However, this can vary depending on maturity, pre-harvest weather, their growing environment, etc. This is why Shilly Shally goes through a stage of lacto-fermentation in order to guarantee a stable level of spiciness and the same taste profile from one production to another.