Fall - The Chile Pepper Institute

VolumeKVl11 Number 3, Pall LU(
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e-mail :[email protected]
Chile Peppers in Russia
By Dr. Yury V. Fotev
Central Siberian Botanical Garden,
Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
cuisine included ginger, black pepper,
cinnamon, clove, saiEon, and parsley, all
lending their exotic flavorsto create a pungent
Recipe
and fragrant Russian cuisine. Spiceswere
Although surprisingto some people, the
commonly added to soups, meats, vegetables,
Capsicum News 6
chile pepper is an important element in
fish dishes, sauces, and honey cakes, as well as
Russian
tea, kvass (a
Burning Questions 7
beverage), and
culture and
traditions.
fiuitdrinks.
Chile
Russian
Orthodox
peppers were
tradition allows
firstcultivated
in Russia in
for chile
1616.
pepper to be
Historical
added to
documents
steamed fish or
show the
fish soup. For
chile pepper
example, on
Saturdays and
Russia fkom
Sundays
Wgthe
Iran and
t - 2
Turkey.
a ~ r e a~t a s t ,
Some researchers believe the Russian word monks in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery ate
"prianost" (spice) results fkom the word
black caviar with onion and red caviar with
chile pepper.
"perets"
(pepper).
Notable
Russian
Inside This Issue
philologist, Vladimir Dal, wrote that "perets
Chile pepper cultivation was widespread in
the Astrakhan region of Russia in the 1840's. In
[is a] spice which has burning taste." The
Russian Seed List
! Russian word bbprianik"
(honey cake) arose
1930,reserchers breed chile pepper cultivars of
more recently because before the 20" century Capsicum annuum L. species and in 1935,the
4 Russians usually added pepper and other
Just How Hot
well-known, early cultivar Astrakhansky A-60
spices to the flour.
was released fkom the Krasnodar Agricultural
Effects of Pepper
Ancient Russians commonly used spices
Research Station. The cultivar has red fluits and
5
such
as
dill,
mint,
horse-radish,
onion,
garlic,
is 2-3 inches in length, about 1-inch in diameter
spray
and weighs about 1110 of an ounce. Breeders
and anise in their everyday cooking. As far
back as the 15thand 16thcenturies, Russian at the Volgograd Research Station have recently
In Every Issue
1
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J
RUSS', CONTINUED, PAGE 4
PAGE 2
2006 Russian State List of Cultivars
The 2006 Russian State List of cultivars of chile pepper Capsicum annuum L. and
Capsicum frutescens L.
Cultivar*
Year **
ApplicantIBreeder
OPE, cultivar*** Shape of
fruit
Capsicum annuum L. var. longurn (DC) Sendt, cultivars:
1. Avrora 8 ](Aurora 8 1)
2005
"Agrosemtoms", private company Kirov
OP
2. Astrakhansky 147
1943
1)VolgogradResearch Station of the N. I. Vavilov All- Russian Research Institute
of Plant Industry (VIR), State Scientific InstitutionVolgograd region
2) "Volgogradsortsemovosch", Federal State Institution Volgograd
3) Frolova Anna G Volgograd region
OP
Trunkshaped
Truncatedconic
3. Vizier (Vizier)
2005
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production "VNIISSOK' Moscow region
OP
Oval-round
4. Volshebniy buke
(Magic bouquet)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production, "VNIISSOK" Moscow region
OP
Narrowlytriangular
5. Zhguchiy buket
(Burning bouquet)
2004
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Crops, State Scientific
Institution "VNIIO Moscow region
6. Zadira (Teaser)
2001
"Khardvik", private company St.-Petersburg
7. Malen'kiy Prinz
(Little Prince)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production "VNIISSOK" (Moscow region)
8. Molniya zolotay
(Lightning golden)
2006
"Sedek", private company (Moscow)
Long-e
shaped
9. Molniya krasnaya
(Lightning red)
2006
"Sedek", private company (Moscow)
Long-cone
shaped
10. Molniya chernaya
(Lightning black)
2006
"Sedek", private company (Moscow)
Long-cone
shaped
11. Neposeda (Fidget)
2004
"Manul", private company, Moscow
OP
12. Ognennaya deva
(Fiery Maiden)
2000
AU-Russian Scientific Research Institute ofvegetable Breeding and Seed
Production ("VNIISSOK'), Moscow region
OP
13. Ognenniy wlkan
(Fiery volcano)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production ("'VNIISSOK"), Moscow region
OP
Long-cone
shaped
14. Ogoniok (Little flame)
2006
Pridnestrovskiy Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture (Tiraspol, Republic of
Moldova)
OP
Longcone
shaped
15. Slonoviy khobot 304
(Elephant trunk)
1952
"Sortcemovosch" Belorechenskaya Seed Base (Krasnodar region)
OP
Trunkshaped
2001
"Agrosemtoms", private company (Kirov) ERLINK"
OP
Conic
1979
Maikop Research Station of the N. I. Vavilov All- Russian Research Institute of
Plant Industry (VIR), State Scientific Institution Krasnodar region
F
18. Chudo Podmoskov'ia
(Wonder of Moscow
region)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production "VNIISSOK" (Moscow region)
OP
Round
19. Shock (Shock)
2006
1) "Gisok-Agro", private company (Moscow)
2) Andreeva Eugenia N. (Moscow)
OP
Long-cone
shaped
20. Yubileiniy VNIISSOK
(Jubilee of All-Russian
Scientific Res. Inst, of
Veg.Seed Prod.)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production 'VNIISSOK" (Moscow region)
OP
21. Yazik drakona
(Tongue of dragon)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed
Production "VNIISSOK7' (Moscow region)
Long-cone
shaped
Trunkshaped
Round
Long-cone
shaped
Conic
16. Tonus (Tone)
17. Tul'skiy
,
Longcone
shaped
Trunkshaped
Trunkshaped
2006 Russian State List of Cultivars cont.
Year **
Cultivar*
PAGE 3
ApplicantBreeder
OP/F, cultivar***
Shape of
Capsicumfitescens L. cultivars:
£iuit
1. Babie leto (Indian summer)
1998
"Gavrish", private company Moscow
OP
Rround
2. Zabiyaka (Fighter)
2004
"Manul", private company, Moscow
OP
Prismshaped
3. Kapriz (Caprice)
2004
"Manul", private company, Moscow
OP
4. Karmen
1998
"Gavrish", private company Moscow
OP
5. Nevesta (Fiancee)
1998
"Gavrish", private company Moscow
OP
6. Piovaya dama (Queen of spades) 1998
"Gavrish", private company Moscow
OP
7. Riabinushka (Beautiful rowan)
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable
Breeding and Seed Production
"VNIISSOK" Moscow region
OP
Round
Conic
Conic
Conic
2000
Round
8. Salut (Salute)
1998
"Gavrish", private company Moscow
OP
Conic
9. Sozvezdie (Constellation)
2000
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable
Breeding and Seed Production "VNIISSOK" Moscow region
OP
Conic
* - Russian name of cultivar (translation to English); ** - year of cultivar registration;
*** - OP - open-pollinated cultivar, F, -hybrid F,
Recipe - Hot Potato Patties
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 fresh green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 fresh red chile pepper, seeded and chopped
1tbs blanched almonds, chopped
2 tbs unsweetened coconut
1tbs chopped cilantro or parsley
2 tbs flour
2 tbs grated gingerroot
vegetable oil for deepfiying
salt for water and to taste
season with salt. Shape mixture into small balls and gently
flatten into pattiues. Heat oil to 350-375°F or until a cube
of bread dropped in the
oil browns in 30 seconds. Deep-fiy the
patties in batches if
necessary, for five
/I
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minutes or until golden
A
brown. Drain on paper
towels.
Cook potatoes in a large pan of lightly salted, boiling
water for 20-25 minutes, or unit1 tender. Drain well and
mash with a fork or potato masher, let potatoes rest until
they are cool enough to handle.
Stir the chile peppers, almonds, coconut, cilantro, flour
and ginger into the mashed potatoes, mixing well and
From Chili, A Fiery
Feast of Red-Hot
Recipes, available fiom
the Chile Pepper
Institute
The Chile Pepper Institute Newsletter
Paul Bosland & Danise Coon - Production
Chris Coon - EditorJWriter
The Chile Pepper Institute
MSC 3 4 P.O. Box 30003
Las Cruces, NM 88003
(505)646-3028
(505)646-6041 fax
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org
The Chile Pepper Institute
Board of Directors
Paul W. Bosland, Director
Danise Coon, Program Coordinator
Emma Jean Cewantes, Chair - Cewantes Enterprise
Louis Biad - Biad Chile
Ed Curry Curry Seed Company
Dave DeWitt - Fiery Foods Mag.
Wendy Hamilton - NMSU CES
-
L
Rich Phillips - NMSU CES
-
Stephanie Walker NMSU CES
John White - NMSU CES
New Mexico State University
Ex. Officio Directors
Lowell Catlett Dean, CAHE
LeRoy Daugherty - AES
Greg Mullins - Dept. PES
-
Chile Peppers in Russia Cont.
PAGE 4
createdthe cultivarAstmkhamky 147. This chile
pepper has very hot
pendant f i t s 4
inches in length and
weighs approximately
a !4 OZ.
Another -popular
chile pepper,
'Slonoviy khobot
304' (Elephant trunk)
was bred in 1937 at
the Maikop Research
Station; it is milky
white before maturity
and has medium to
hot red mature f i t s ,
5 !4inches in length.
eer pepper
In 1950,this cultivar
was recommended
for growing in ten regions of the former USSR. Until this
point, cayennehad been the most prevalent in the
Russian Far East, and across different districts and
republics ofthe former USSR (Northern Caucasus,
Ukraine). The first F, hybrid chile pepper, 'Tul'skiy,' was
bred at the Maikop Research Station in 1979. It is an
early cultivar with big, conical-shapedfi-uits that weigh
about 1 ounce and has a strong aroma.
Between 1966and 1969,the Central Siberian Botani-
I
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cal Garden (CSBG) in Novosibirsk, which also held joint
contracts with liquor and vodka factories, tested various
chile pepper cultivars. Their tests included local cultivars
from the N. I. Vavilov All- Russian Research Institute of
Plant Industry (VlR), Leningrad-St.-Petersburg and
foreign cultivars fiom botanical gardens abroad. In 1998,
the G s i a n private co~npany"Gavrish" registered five
cultivars of CapsicumJizltescensL. with a h i t weight of
?4ounce, a hot taste, and a strong aroma.
Today, the All-Russian Institute of Vegetable Breeding and
Vegetable Seed Production "VNIISSOK" (Moscow
region) has a research program specifically for chile
peppers. The CSBG
supportsthe botanical
collection of chile
pepper cultivars and is
currentlybreeding for
productivity and biochemical traits in Siberian red, Siberianyellow,
and the cultivarAlligator.
The 2006 Russian
State List of Cultivars
has 2 1 cultivars of C.
annuum var. longum
(DC) Sendt. and 9
cultivarsof C.
frutescens.
Hot pepper '011 '
I Just How Hot Is That Red Hot Chile Pepper?
Baylor University researchers have developed a new
way to test the "heat" inside a habanero
chile pepper. The relatively simpletechnique
to analyze the active components in the chile
pepper could provide quicker and more
accurate information to the food preparation
industry and to those wanting to utilize chile
peppers for medical purposes, such as pain
relief
Capsaicinoids are the family of chemicals
that give a chile pepper its hotness.
Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin are two
members of the group that make up to 90
percent of the total capsaicinoid content
found in most chile peppers. The exact
amount of capsaicinoidcontent varies fiom h i t to h i t ,
i
giving each individual chile pepper a different degree of
hotness.
"Capsaicinoids are the active ingredient in
pepper spray, tear gas and some arthritis
medications,not to mention spices and foods
like salsa, so a wide range of industries could
find this new approach usell," said Dr.
Kenneth Busch, professor of chemistry and
cedirector of the Center for Analytical
Spectroscopy at Baylor and a lead
investigator on the project.
The current industry standard to test the
heat of a chile pepper is through a process
called high-performanceliquid
chromatography(HPLC), but the process can
Continued on the next page
I
=epperSpray on Skin Types
I
PAGE 5
The Effects of Pepper Spray on Skin Types
Dr. Lynn Pershing and her colleagues in the Department of
Dermatology at the University of Utah School of Medicine
report a novel way to test the effectivenessof pepper spray.
Researchers sprayed the arm of a volunteer with pepper
spray and then measure the color change of the arm. The
redder the arm the greater the potency of the pepper spray.
Historically, pepper spray product potency has been
established using a taste test evaluation.Ataste test is
subjective and may not be appropriate for assessing pepper
potency on skin. Researchers evaluated chemically diverse
pepper sprays on human forearm skin using three
noninvasive objectives: transepidermal water loss, skin
surfacetemperature and erythema, which is the redness of
the skin caused by increased blood flow to the capillaries, as
a means for assessing dermal pharmacology, toxicology and
product potency.
Five commercialpepper spray products containing various
capsaicinoid analogs at various concentrationswere
evaluated in duplicate on the forearms of six Caucasians and
six Asians using a 10 -minute exposure. Mean surface skin
temperature and transepidermal water loss results were
highly variable and therefore did not demonstratedose
responsivebehavior to increasing capsaicinoid
concentrations.Erythema, as measured by increases in
uniform color of the skin, was greater in discriminating
pepper spray potency and correlated well with the
relative and total
capsaicinoid
concentration in the
products. Products
containing greater than 16
mg capsaicinoid
concentrationproduced
greater erythema
responses in Caucasians
thanhians. Asians
responded greater to the
synthetic analog,than to
mixtures of capsaicinoids,
while Caucasians
responded equally to both capsaicinoid analogs. Results
indicate that pepper spray product potency in human
skin reflects the total capsaicinoid concentration, the
specific capsaicinoids present, and the race of the
individual exposed.
Source: Journal of Applied Toxicolog~26 : 88-97
Just How Hot Continued
be expensive and time consuming because scientistsmust
quickerthan other modern techniques,potentially saving
first chemically separate the capsaicinoidsin the extract from time for the busy food preparation industry.
other interfaing moleculesthat also are present.
"Like all fundamentalresearch, application will come
Rather than try to chemically separate the capsaicinoids,
over time," Busch said.
Baylor researchers used a mathematical approach based on Note: This story has been adaptedpom a news
multivariate regression modeling. The new approach takes
release issued by Baylor University.
known capsaicinoid contentnumbers from a series of chile
pepper extracts and plugs them into a computer program.
Those base numbers "train" the computer to focus on the
IS YOUR LABEL RED?
subtle features present in the spectrum that correlate with the
IT'S TIME TO RENEW YOUR
capsaicinoid concentration,allowing the computerto recognize the hotness components in the extract even in the
CPI MEMBERSHIP! !
presence ofthe other interferingmolecules. Once the computer has been "trained" to recognize those components, it
canthen be used to determine the heat of other unknown
chile peppers.
While methods for testing the heat of a chile pepper have
dramaticallyimproved over the years, Baylor researchers
believe their cheminformatics approach is less expensive and
I
Capsicum News
PAGE 6
CAPSICUM NE WS
China: Space Chile Peppers Land in the Market
The technology of growing chile peppers from space seeds has been
approved recently in the Gansu Province, in northwest China. It all started in
200 1,when Tianshui LupengAgricultural Scienceand Technology Co.
LTD, the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology and the Institute
of Genetics and Development Biology embarked upon ajoint project to
grow space chile peppers, according to the People's Daily News.
"Outer space has become an industrial base for seed development," asserted Liu Jiyuan, former director of the StateAerospace Bureau in the
ongoing China Industrial Hi-tech Forum in 2001, giving 5 112ounces of
green peppers as an example of what can be grown from "space seeds."
The seeds used in the recent harvest were selected from good quality
plants of 'Gansu' bell peppers and 'Gannong' thin chile peppers that had
spent a week in the Shenzhou-3spaceship.
The new varieties of space chile peppers are now available in Tianshui's
markets and will be grown and sold in large quantities in the Gansu,
Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia Provinces and Autonomus regions next year.
From Peppers Today, August 2007.
New Habanero Blasts Taste Buds-and
Pests
The super-hot, bright orange 'Tiger Paw - NR' habanero offers extreme heat for chile pepper aficionados, plus
nematode resistance that will make it a hit with growers and home gardeners. Plant geneticistRichard L. Fery and plant
pathologist Judy A. Thies at the Agricultural Research Service(ARS) U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, S.C., put
the chile pepper through three years of greenhouse and field tests before determining,in 2006, that it was ready for
commercial fields and backyard gardens. The firm, shiny pod gets its name fiom its tiger-paw-like appearance. The
'Tiger Paw' is the first commercialhabanero pepper resistant to attack by microscopic, soil-dwelling worms known as
root-knot nematodes, according to the scientists. 'Tiger Paw-NR' can fend off the southern root-knot nematode,
Meloidogyne incognita;the peanut root-knot nematode, M arenaria and the tropical root-knot nematode, M
javanica.
Fery and Thies used conventional breeding methods to develop the chile pepper. Tests using the standard Scoville
Heat Scale show that 'Tiger Paw-NR' scores a fiery 348,634 SHU. Habaneros typically score 100,000or higher,
compared to the 3,500 to 5,000 range ofjalapeiios, for instance.
From Agricultural Research magazine, July 2007
Hybrid Peppers Can Be Raised With Minimal Protection Under Moderate Winter Conditions
Genetically enhanced hybrid chile peppers developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that can be raised with
minimal protection under moderate winter conditions have achieved worldwide commercial success. Chile pepper is
one of the major vegetable crops in the world and in Israel. The genetic improvements embodied in the chile peppers
widen the ecological conditionsunder which they can be grown and also facilitate the use of simple greenhouses and
Burning Questions
PAGE 7
BURNING QUESTIONS
Q. I have grown accustomed to eating hot chile peppers,
however I have several people warning me recently that say
eating too manyjalape os will damage the eater's tastebuds?
Is this true?
teeth, and the spendingpower to shape the entire food
market.
Eighty percent ofthe 2 million annual visitors to fieryfoods.comhttp://Fiery-Foods.com/,
a website for
aficionados of chile peppers and barbecue sauce, are
A. There is currentlyno scientific evidence that eating large
men 45 and older, according to Dave DeWitt, who runs
amounts ofhot chile peppers will damage the taste buds. An the site and is a Chile Pepper Institute Board member.
article was published recently in the Boston Globe that
Research in this area is slow, but what we do know is
addresses issues with tastebuds.
that at a certain age - after about 40 for most people Some food scientists and market researchers think there is the number of nerve receptors in the nose and tongue
a more surprising reason for the broad nationwide shift
that respond to smell and taste dim and decrease. As
toward bolder flavors: The baby boomers, that huge, youth- that happens, complex flavors become duller. Sweet and
chasing, all important demographic,are getting old. As they
sour tastes decline sharply; salty and acidic tastes remain
age, they are losing their ability to taste and are turning to
brighter for longer. The tastes that penetrate the fog most
spicier, higher-flavor foods to overcome their dulled senses. clearly come fiom another group of flavors called
Chiefly because of degenerating olfactory nerves, most
sensory irritants. These hit the body not through taste or
aging people experience a diminished sense oftaste, whether smell, but through the chemosensory system, which
they realize it or not. But unlike previous generations, in the
conveys sensations like touch, temperature, pain, and
U.S., 80 million boomers have broad appetites, a full set of
pressure.
NEWS, CONTINUED.
netting instead of expensive structures.
The chile peppers, in various colors, have been raised to produce high yields under night-time conditions as low as
50°F, which is much lower than previous hybrids that required temperatures higher than 64°F and needed costly heating
to grow and develop. The new hybrids are characterized by high yields, a long growing season,resistanceto viruses,
firm h i t , good vine storage capacity, long shelf-life, and low sensitivityto cracking. Science Dailey,June 2007
Red Pepper: Hot Stuff For Fighting Fat?
Food scientistsin Taiwan reported new evidence fiom laboratory experiments that capsaiciniods,natural compounds
that give chile pepper its hotness can reduce the growth of fat cells. The study is in the March 21 issue of the [Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry]. In the report, Gow-Chin Yen and Chin-Lin Hsu
cite previous research suggesting that obesity can be reduced by preventing
immature fat cells (adipocytes) fiom developing into mature cells.
Past research also linked capsaicinto a decrease in the amount of fat tissue and
decreased blood-fat levels. With that knowledge, the researchers tested
capsaicin's effects on pre-adipocytes and adipocytes growing in laboratory cultures.
They found that capsaicin prevented pre-adipocytes fiom filling with fat and
becoming 111-fledged fat cells. The effects occurred at levelsjust slightlygreater
than those found in the stomach fluid of an individual eating a typical Indian or Thai diet, the researchers noted. Capsaicin worked by providing a biochemical signal that made fat cells undergo apoptosis, a mechanism in which cells selfdestruct. From Science Daily, August 2007