Guide | Chili Pepper Mania Keeps Winter Hot!
With the temperatures dropping and the winds picking up, urban life can sometimes look like a dreary bone-chilled march toward spring. Ailments like the flu and SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can be more than a simple annoyance as days turn into weeks of lost productivity from work and well being.
However, there is a way to turn up the heat and stay sharp during this season which doesn’t involve the themostat! Evidence is building that eating hot chili peppers can provide you with a variety of health benefits both physiological and psychological. Last night’s MBC Special on television examined chili peppers in the world diet and showcased the history, science and art behind the spicy hot plant.
Interesting Tidbits:
Kimchi was at one time white along with a whole range of other non-spicy side dishes. The red kimchi we know today was born by the 19th century as a result of trade from Europe.
The Portuguese, who have been credited with spreading the red chili pepper during its spice trade in the 17th Century, brought chili peppers across Europe, India, and Asia.
Red chili peppers can be found in the cuisines of countless nationalities across the globe spanning from Mexico to Hungary to India to Thailand to name a few.
The hottest pepper in the world is known as the Naga Jolokia, a red pepper found in Bangladesh and parts of India.
The Scoville Scale measures the “hotness” of a pepper, and it rates the Naga Jolokia at nearly 1,000,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units) whereas a typical Jalapeno from Mexico would be 8,000 SHU at maximum.
The Cheongyang Gochu (청양 고추), the hottest chili pepper in Korea, was a recent invention in 1983 and tops off at around a 10,000 SHU.
The health benefits of capsaicin which is the active chemical compound in all capsicums (peppers) are being widely studied. Evidence suggests that chili peppers, rich in vitamin C, act as excellent preventatives for such things as the common cold. They also have potential in treatments for Type-1 Diabetes, a range of cancers, and in pain management!
The winter is a perfect opportunity to re-examine spicy and hot foods. The first thing I did after the MBC program ended was bite into a fresh Cheongyang Gochu to re-acquaint myself with what a 10,000 SHU pepper tastes and feels like.
It “feels” great. Researchers describe the endorphins that are released as being similar to the high experienced when riding a rollercoaster. If there were ever a ‘good pain’ this is it.
Try this next time! Bite into a chili pepper as an alternative to a cup of coffee. For the next 3 hours you may feel more alert, focused, and able to function. Or try this test with your friends, to see whether the smallest peppers are really the hottest!
If you’re thinking food, here are 4 spicy Korean dishes which contain chili peppers and are healthful.
1) Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개)–A Korean standard, made of kimchi. Add tuna or samgyeopsal for some protein, garlic to taste, scallions, peppers, and ddeok (rice cakes) to add carbs.
2) Yukgaejang (육개장) –A spicy meat and vegetable and noodle stew.
3) Maeungtang (매운탕)–A spicy fish parts and vegetable stew.
4) Bibim Naengmyeon (비빔냉면)–A cold noodle dish with a large helping of gochujang seasoning, pear slices, and boiled egg.
Anyone care to join me and share info on the hottest chili peppers in Korea (imported and domestic)?
–James H. thought the Jalepeno was hot. That was so yesterday.
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So that’s what Scoville meant on my pepper spray! That naga jolokia would make ONE. SPICY. MEAT-A-BALL! Great article!
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