| Suggest going out for Szechuan cuisine, and many | | | | christening it pimentito or "pepper" out of a mistaken |
| people immediately envision platters of hot, spicy food | | | | belief that he had discovered black pepper. |
| - the kind that has you gulping down copious amounts | | | | It is unclear precisely how chili peppers were |
| of water all evening in an attempt to soothe your | | | | introduced to Szechuan, a landlocked, mountain-ringed |
| burning tastebuds. People are often surprised to | | | | region in western China. The most accepted view is |
| discover that at least of one-third of the recipes that | | | | that Indian missionaries brought chilies with them during |
| make up Szechuan cuisine are not spicy at all. That is | | | | their travels along China's famous Silk Route - a series |
| not to say that Szechuan's reputation for producing | | | | of pathways originally constructed during the Han |
| "mouthburners" is undeserved. But, along with fiery | | | | dynasty for military and strategic purposes, that |
| classics such as "Hot and Numbing Fish" and "Kung | | | | subsequently gained more importance as a major |
| Pao Chicken," Szechuan is the home of "Tea Smoked | | | | trade route. Another theory is that they were brought |
| Duck" - a fascinating dish made by smoking a duck | | | | in by Chinese merchants trading with Portuguese and |
| over tea leaves. | | | | Spanish sailors at various seaports. In any event, today |
| Moreover, the chili peppers that have made Szechuan | | | | chili peppers are an indispensable feature of Chinese |
| cooking famous are a relatively recent addition. It was | | | | regional cuisine. Dried peppers are frequently used in |
| Christopher Columbus who brought chili peppers back | | | | Szechuan dishes, while cooks favor fresh peppers in |
| with him from his travels (on behalf of the Spanish | | | | the neighboring province of Hunan. |
| crown) in what he mistakenly took to be the Orient, | | | | Tip - Ever hear the expression "Oil and water don't |
| and which we now know was somewhere in the | | | | mix"? It's true, which is why drinking water doesn't help |
| Bahamas. By the time the intrepid, Genoa-born Italian | | | | combat the effects of spicy foods. Since most spices |
| explorer set foot in the New World, chili peppers were | | | | are oily, the water just rolls over the spice. Eat rice |
| flourishing throughout South America, the Caribbean, | | | | instead - it absorbs the hot chili oil. Beer or milk also |
| and Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America). Most | | | | help. |
| sources state Columbus named the plant himself, | | | | |