Chile Peppers

For more than ten thousand years, humans have been fascinated by a seemingly innocuous plant with bright-colored fruits that bite back when bitten. Ancient New World cultures from Mexico to South America combined these pungent pods with every conceivable meat and vegetable, as evident from archaeological finds, Indian artifacts, botanical observations, and studies of the cooking methods of the modern descendants of the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs. In Chile Peppers: A Global History, Dave DeWitt, a world expert on chiles, travels from New Mexico across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia chronicling the history, mystery, and mythology of chiles around the world and their abundant uses in seventy mouth-tingling recipes.

In Chile Peppers: A Global History, Dave DeWitt, a world expert on chiles, travels from New Mexico across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia chronicling the history, mystery, and mythology of chiles around the world and their abundant uses in seventy mouth-tingling recipes.
Dave DeWitt is a food historian and one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods. He has published more than fifty books, including Precious Cargo: How Foods from the Americas Changed the World, which won the IACP Award for Best Culinary History. DeWitt is also the producer of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as the founder of the Scovie Awards, which recognize the best fiery foods and barbecue products in the world.
Dave DeWitt is one of America's most scientifically literate journalists, and reading of his travels is always an adventure.--Gary Paul Nabhan, author of Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity
In his delicious new book, veteran Albuquerque author / food historian Dave DeWitt takes readers on journeys around the world to explore and meet the multitude of chile varieties that exist.--David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal
An impressively comprehensive and informative study tracing the domestic cultivation of wild chile to the development of heat indexes and ratings for the chile, and so much more.--Susan Bethany, Midwest Book Review
DeWitt's magnum opus book of the spiciest proportions.--Alex De Vore, Santa Fe Reporter
Fascinating, very informative, and a delight to read. I wanted to rush to the kitchen to try all the recipes, too.--Sharon Hudgins, author of T-Bone Whacks and Caviar Snacks: Cooking with Two Texans in Siberia and the Russian Far East