Chillies or capsicum are long roundish taper pods, divided into two or three cells, full of small whitish seeds. When this fruit is fresh, it has a penetrating acrid smell; to the taste it is extremely pungent, and produces a most painful burning in the mouth. They are occasionally imported dry, and form the basis of Cayenne pepper; put in vinegar when green or ripe, they are an acceptable present in Europe. In Bengal the natives make an extract from the chillies, which is about the consistence and color of treacle.
The consumption of chillies in India is immense, as both rich and poor daily use them, and it is the principal ingredient in all chutnies and curries; ground into a paste, between two stones, with a little mustard, oil, ginger, and salt, it forms the only seasoning which the millions of poor in that country can obtain to eat with their insipid rice. They are worth in the Bombay market about 40s. the candy of 600 lbs.
Immense quantities of the capsicum are used by the native population of the West Indies, Africa, and Mexico; the consumption as a condiment being almost universal, and perhaps equal in quantity to salt. Ten barrels of these peppers were shipped from Montego Bay, Jamaica, in the first six months of 1851.
The wholesale price of chillies in the London market is from 15s. to 25s. the cwt., and there is a duty of 6d. per pound on them. Cayenne fetches 9d. to 2s. the pound.
Chilli is the Mexican name for all varieties of Capsicum. They are natives of the East and West Indies, and other hot climates. C. annuum is the species commonly noticed, but there seems to be numerous varieties, which by many are reckoned species. Thus, C. frutescens is a shrubby plant, which, along with C. minimum, supplies the variety called bird-pepper, it grows to a larger and more bushy size; C. baccatum has a globular fruit, and furnishes cherry or berry capsicum. They are all of the simplest culture, and may even be grown with very little care in England. Culture appears to increase the size, but to diminish the pungency of the fruit. In capsicums irritant properties prevail so as to obscure the narcotic action. Their acridity is owing to an oleaginous substance called capsicin. Cayenne pepper is used in medicine chiefly in the form of tincture, as a rubefacient and stimulant, especially in cases of ulcerated sore throat. It acts on the stomach as an aromatic condiment, and when preserved in acetic acid it forms chilli vinegar.
Red pepper may be considered one of the most useful vegetables in hygiene. As a stimulant and auxiliary in digestion it has been considered invaluable, especially in warm countries. A kind called the tobacco red pepper, is said to possess the most pungent properties of any of the species. It yields a small red pod, less than an inch in length, and longitudinal in shape, which is so exceedingly hot that a small quantity of it is sufficient to season a large dish of any food. Owing to its oleaginous character, it has been found impossible to preserve it by drying, but by pouring strong boiling vinegar on it a sauce or decoction can be made, which possesses in a concentrated form all the essential qualities of the vegetable. A single drop of this sauce will flavor a whole plate of soup or other food.
The "wort" or Cayenne pottage may be termed the national dish of the Abyssinians, as that, or its basis "dillock," is invariably eaten with their ordinary diet, the thin crumpet-like bread of teff or wheat flour. Equal parts of salt and the red cayenne pods are well powdered and mixed together with a little pea or bean meal to make a paste. This is called "dillock," and is made in quantities at a time, being preserved in a large gourd-shell, generally suspended from the roof. The "wort" is merely a little water added to this paste, which is then boiled over the fire, with the addition of a little fat meat and more meal to make a kind of porridge, to which sometimes is also added several warm seeds, such as the common cress or black mustard, both of which are indigenous in Abyssinia.—("Johnston's Abyssinia.")
A great quantity of Agi or Guinea pepper is grown in Peru, the natives being very fond of this condiment. It is not uncommon for an American Indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty pods of capsicum, a little salt, and a piece of bread, washed down by two or three quarts of chica, the popular beverage.
The pimento, Eugenia Pimento (Myrtus Pimenta), is a native of Mexico, and the West Indies. It flourishes spontaneously and in great abundance on the north side of the island of Jamaica; its numerous white blossoms mixing with the dark green foliage, and with the slightest breeze diffusing around the most delicious fragrance, give a beauty and a charm to nature rarely equalled, and of which he who has not visited the shady arbors and perfumed groves of the tropics can have little conception. This lovely tree, the very leaf of which when bruised emits a fine aromatic odor, nearly as powerful as that of the spice itself, has been known to grow to the height of from 30 to 40 feet, exceedingly straight, and having for its base the spinous ridge of a rock, eight or ten feet above the surface of the hill or mountain. A single tree has frequently produced 150 lbs. of the raw, or 100 lbs. of the dried fruit.