Capsicum, chillies, paprika, bird’s eye chilli information

Many different varieties of the genus Capsicum are widely grown for their fruits, which may be eaten fresh, cooked, as a dried powder, in a sauce, or processed into oleoresin. There are three major products traded on the world market for use in food processing: paprika, oleoresin, and dried chilli (both whole and in powdered form). Some fresh fruits and some fermented mash is used for food processing, but these are relatively minor amounts and by necessity they are produced close to the processing facility.

The genus Capsicum belongs to the family Solanaceae. Within the genus Capsicum, five species are commonly recognized as domesticated: Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens, while approximately 20 wild species have been documented. The genus Capsicum shares the distinction of being the first plants cultivated in the New World with beans (Phaseolus spp.), maize (Zea mays L.), and cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae). They are one of the first spices used by humans anywhere in the world. Widespread geographic distribution of C. annuum and C. frutescens from the New World to other continents occurred in the sixteenth century via Spanish and Portuguese traders, whereas the other species are little distributed outside South America. Most products used commercially for food processing are C. annuum.

The classification system for this genus is somewhat confusing in the literature. In Spain, the Castilian word ‘pimiento’ refers to any Capsicum species, but in the USA, ‘pimiento’ or ‘pimento’ refers only to thick-walled, heart-shaped, non-pungent fruits from the species C. annuum. The Hungarians call all C. annuum fruits ‘paprika’, but paprika is defined in the world market as a ground, red powder derived from dried fruits with the desirable colour and flavour qualities. The word ‘chile’ is the common name for any Capsicum species in Mexico, Central America and the Southwestern USA. In Asia, the spelling ‘chilli’ is more common and is always associated with highly pungent varieties of C. annuum and C. frutescens, while the non-pungent sweet bell peppers are referred to as ‘Capsicums’. Pungent fruits of all cultivated Capsicum species as a collective class are called ‘chillies’ in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Yearbook. Bird’s eye chillies are grown primarily in East Africa, but they are merely small-fruited, highly pungent forms of C. annuum or C. frutescens. In this site, the following definitions will be used: