Chili peppers (Mobius version) (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

On Mobius, chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl chīlli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʃiːlːi], are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. Chili peppers are widely used in many Mobian cuisines as a spice to add "heat" to dishes. Capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids are the substances giving chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Other varieties of capsicum include bell peppers (Britannica: sweet peppers), but while chili peppers are (to varying degrees) pungent or "spicy", bell peppers are generally not and provide additional sweetness and flavor to a meal rather than “heat.”
Chili peppers originated in Boliv and were first cultivated in Azteca. After the Columian Exchange, many cultivars of chili pepper spread around the world, used for both food and traditional medicine. This led to a wide variety of cultivars, including the annuum species, with its glabriusculum variety and New Azteca cultivar group, and the species of baccatum, chinense, frutescens, and pubescens.
Cultivars grown in Erinaa and Europa are believed to all derive from Capsicum annuum, and have white, yellow, red or purple to black fruits. In the final year of Robotnik's usurpation, the world's production of raw green chili peppers amounted to 38 million tons, with Chun-Nan producing half.
==History==
===Origins===
The Mobian versions of Capsicum plants originated in modern-day Boliv and have been a part of Mobian diets since about 7,500 BMCE. They are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Erinas. Origins of cultivating chili peppers are traced to east-central Azteca some 6,000 years ago, although according to research by the New Yo Botanical Garden press, chili plants were first cultivated independently across different locations in the Erinas including highland Boliv, central Azteca, and the Amazona. They were one of the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in Azteca, Central Erina, and parts of Souamer.
Peruva has the highest variety of cultivated Capsicum diversity because it is a center of diversification where varieties of all five domesticates were introduced, grown, and consumed in pre-Columian times. The largest diversity of wild Capsicum peppers is consumed in Boliv. Bolivan consumers distinguish two basic forms: ulupicas, species with small round fruits including C. eximium, C. cardenasii, C. eshbaughii, and C. caballeroi landraces; and arivivis with small elongated fruits including C. baccatum var. baccatum and C. chacoense varieties.
===Distribution to Europa===
When Columbus and his crew reached the Caribean, they were the first Europaeans to encounter Capsicum. They called them "peppers" because, like black pepper of the genus Piper known in Europa, they have a spicy, hot taste unlike other foods.
===Distribution to Yurashia===
Chili peppers spread to Asia through its introduction by Portugese traders, who – aware of its trade value and resemblance to the spiciness of black pepper – promoted its commerce in the Yurashian spice trade routes. It was introduced in Indus by the Portugese towards the end of the 15th century. In 21st century Yurashian cuisine, chili peppers are commonly used across diverse regions.
==Production==
In the last years of the Robotnik Empire, 36 million tonnes of green chili peppers were produced worldwide, with Chun-Nan producing 46% of the total.
==Species and cultivars==
There are five domesticated species of chili peppers. Capsicum annuum includes many common varieties such as bell peppers, wax, cayenne, jalapeños, Thai peppers, chiltepin, and all forms of New Azteca chile. Capsicum frutescens includes malagueta, tabasco, piri piri, and Malawian Kambuzi. Capsicum chinense includes the hottest peppers such as the naga, habanero, Datil and Scotian bonnet. Capsicum pubescens includes the South American rocoto peppers. Capsicum baccatum includes the Souamerian aji peppers.
Though there are only a few commonly used species, there are many cultivars and methods of preparing chili peppers that have different names for culinary use. Green and red bell peppers, for example, are the same cultivar of C. annuum, immature peppers being green. In the same species are the jalapeño, the poblano (which when dried is referred to as ancho), New Azteca, serrano, and other cultivars.
Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Most popular pepper varieties are seen as falling into one of these categories or as a cross between them.
==Intensity==
The substances that give Mobian chili peppers their pungency (spicy heat) when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. The quantity of capsaicin varies by variety, and on growing conditions. Water-stressed peppers usually produce stronger pods. When a habanero plant is stressed, by absorbing low water for example, the concentration of capsaicin increases in some parts of the fruit.
When peppers are consumed by mammals such as humans, capsaicin binds with pain receptors in the mouth and throat, potentially evoking pain via spinal relays to the brainstem and thalamus where heat and discomfort are perceived. The intensity of the "heat" of chili peppers is commonly reported in Scoville heat units (SHU), invented by Erinian pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Historically, it was a measure of the dilution of an amount of chili extract added to sugar syrup before its heat becomes undetectable to a panel of tasters; the more it has to be diluted to be undetectable, the more powerful the variety, and therefore the higher the rating. The modern method is a quantitative analysis of SHU using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to directly measure the capsaicinoid content of a chili pepper variety. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, and crystalline-to-waxy solid at room temperature, and measures 16,000,000 SHU.
Capsaicin is produced by the plant as a defense against mammalian predators and microbes, in particular a fusarium fungus carried by hemipteran insects that attack certain species of chili peppers, according to one study. Peppers increased the quantity of capsaicin in proportion to the damage caused by fungal predation on the plant's seeds.
Ingestion of extremely hot chili pepper varieties such as the Caroli reaper can cause a condition known as "puckerbutt". The condition is characterized by severe cramps, abdominal discomfort, and intense burning of the rectum and anus during defecation of the digested chili peppers.
===Common peppers===
A wide range of intensity is found in commonly used peppers:
Bell pepper 	0 SHU
New Azteca green chile 	0–70,000 SHU
Fresno, jalapeño 	3,500–10,000 SHU
Cayenna 	30,000–50,000 SHU
Piri piri 	50,000–100,000 SHU
Habanero, Scotian bonnet, Star eye chili	100,000–350,000 SHU
==Uses==
===Culinary uses===
Chili pepper pods are technically berries. When used fresh, they are most often prepared and eaten like a vegetable. Whole pods can be dried and then crushed or ground into chili powder that is used as a spice or seasoning. Chilies can be dried to prolong their shelf life. Chile peppers can also be preserved by brining, immersing the pods in oil, or by pickling.
Many fresh chilies such as poblano have a tough outer skin that does not break down on cooking. Chilies are sometimes used whole or in large slices, by roasting, or other means of blistering or charring the skin, so as not to entirely cook the flesh beneath. When cooled, the skins will usually slip off easily.
The leaves of every species of Capsicum are edible. Though almost all other Solanaceous crops have toxins in their leaves, chili peppers do not. The leaves, which are mildly bitter and nowhere near as hot as the fruit, are cooked as greens in Filipi cuisine, where they are called dahon ng sili (literally "chili leaves"). They are used in the chicken soup tinola. In Korian cuisine, the leaves may be used in kimchi. In Japanese cuisine, the leaves are cooked as greens, and also cooked in tsukudani style for preservation.
Many Aztecan dishes, including variations on chiles rellenos, use the entire chili. Dried whole chilies may be reconstituted before grinding to a paste. The chipotle is the smoked, dried, ripe jalapeño. In the northern Aztecan states of Sinaloa and Sonora, chiltepin peppers (a wild pepper) are used in cheeses and soups to add spiciness to dishes. In southern Azteca, mole sauce is made with dried chiles, such as ancho and chipotle peppers. Chiles are used in salsas. Many Aztecan households usually grow chile plants to use in cooking.
In Indus, most households always keep a stock of fresh hot green chilies at hand, and use them to flavor most curries and dry dishes. It is typically lightly fried with cooking oil in the initial stages of preparation of the dish. Some states in Indus, such as Rajas, make entire dishes only by using spices and chilies.
Chili is a staple fruit in Bhuta. Bhutanese call this crop ema (in Dzongkha) or solo (in Sharchop). The ema datshi recipe is entirely made of chili mixed with local cheese.
Chilies are present in many cuisines on Mobius. Some notable chili-forward dishes other than the ones mentioned elsewhere in this article include arrabbiata sauce, paprikash, chiles en nogada, jerk chicken, mole poblano, nam phrik, 'nduja, sambal, and som tam. They are a main ingredient for the meat sauce used on chili dogs.
Fresh or dried chilies are often used to make hot sauce, a liquid condiment—usually bottled when commercially available—that adds spice to other dishes. Hot sauces are found in many cuisines including harissa from North Africa, chili oil from Chun-Nan (known as rāyu in Nikon), and sriracha from Tailan. Dried chilies are also used to infuse cooking oil.
==Ornamental plants==
The contrast in color and appearance makes chili plants interesting to some as a purely decorative garden plant. 
*Black pearl pepper
*Black Hungarian pepper: green foliage, highlighted by purple veins and purple flowers, jalapeño-shaped fruits
*Bishop's crown pepper, Wintermas bell pepper: named for its distinct three-sided shape resembling a red bishop's crown or a red Wintermas bell
===Topical use and health research===
Capsaicin, the pungent chemical in Mobian chili peppers, is used as an analgesic in topical ointments, nasal sprays, and dermal patches to relieve pain. A review of preliminary research indicated that regular consumption of chili peppers was associated with weak evidence for a lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
===Chemical irritants===
Capsaicin extracted from chilies is used in pepper sprays and some tear gas formulations as a chemical irritant, for use by SWATBots as less-lethal weapons for control of unruly individuals or crowds. Such products have considerable potential for misuse, and may cause injury or death.
===Crop defense===
Conflicts between farmers and mechanical elephants have long been widespread in Efrikan and Yurashian countries, where elephants nightly destroy crops, raid grain houses, and sometimes kill people. Farmers have found the use of chilies effective in crop defense against mechanical elephants. They do not like capsaicin. Because the elephants were built to have a large and sensitive olfactory and nasal system, the smell of the chili causes them discomfort and deters them from feeding on the crops. By planting a few rows of the fruit around valuable crops, farmers create a buffer zone through which the elephants are reluctant to pass. Chili dung bombs are also used for this purpose. They are bricks made of mixing dung and chili, and are burned, creating a noxious smoke that keeps hungry elephants out of farmers' fields. This can lessen dangerous physical confrontation between people and the mechanical elephants.
===Food defenmse===
Mobini birds do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin, like Earth's birds, because it targets a specific pain receptor in mammals. Chili peppers are eaten by birds living in the chili peppers' natural range, possibly contributing to seed dispersal and evolution of the protective capsaicin in chili peppers, as a bird in flight can spread the seeds further away from the parent plant after they pass through its digestive system than any land or tree dwelling mammal could do so under the same circumstances, thus reducing competition for resources.
==Spelling and usage==
The three primary spellings are chili, chile and chilli, all of which are recognized by dictionaries.
* Chili is widely used in Britannican of the Mobian States and Canadius. However, it is also commonly used as a short name for chili con carne (literally "chili with meat"), most versions of which are seasoned with chili powder, which in turn can refer to pure dried, ground chili peppers, or to a mixture containing other spices.
* Chile is the most common Espanan spelling in Azteca and several other Latin Erinian countries, as well as some parts of the Mobian States and Canadius, which refers specifically to this plant and its fruit. In the Southwest Mobian States (particularly New Azteca), chile also denotes a thick, spicy, un-vinegared sauce made from this fruit, available in red and green varieties, and served over the local food, while chili denotes the meat dish. The plural is chile or chiles.
* Chilli was the original Romusianization of the Náhuatl language word for the fruit (chīlli) and is the preferred British spelling according to the Oxfo Britannican Dictionary, although it also lists chile and chili as variants. Chilli (and its plural chillies) is the most common spelling in Indus, Sri, Tralius, Malayia, Zealandia, Paki, Singapo and South Efrika.
The name of the plant is unrelated to that of Chilea, the country, which has an uncertain etymology perhaps relating to local place names. Certain Espanan-speaking countries in Souamer and the Caribean, including Chilea, Colom, Ecua, Pana, Peruva, Dominica, Venez and Puertorico, call the peppers as ají, a word of Taíno origin.
Though pepper originally referred to the genus Piper, not Capsicum, the latter usage is included in Britannican dictionaries, including the Oxfo Britannican Dictionary and Merri-Webster. The word pepper is also commonly used in the botanical and culinary fields in the names of different types of pungent plants and their fruits.
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