How The World Became Spicy (In Only 20 Years)
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- It all started with a simple question- when did Thai food become spicy?
From there, we did our best to find an answer that's never before been properly explained, unraveling the entire story of the post-Columbian spice trade, taking us to the ports of southern Africa, the kitchens of Gujarat, and the central Asian plateau as we follow the written, genetic, and linguistic history of the humble chili from the New World to the Far East.
This is our attempt at telling the story of the history of the chili pepper: history's spiciest conquest.
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0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Jungle Curry
3:36 - Two Peppers with Two Origins
4:44 - Black Gold
8:35 - The Mission
9:37 - Where Chilis Started
11:24 - Aztecs, Mayans, and Mexican Food
12:36 - From the Americas to the World
15:31 - India
16:59 - Two Strains Collide
18:42 - Sichuan Spicy Chicken
21:00 - Trade Routes to China
23:42 - Thailand
25:37 - 1512 to 1800
27:23 - The Ludicrous Story of the Bell Pepper
29:55 - Conclusion
31:37 - Goombah
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Video Credits:
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Let me apologize for my voice in this video- it's actually the reason we took on this topic this week; something I've been working on as a side project for quite some time but never fit it into our filming schedule. All three of us- Jaspar, Daria, and myself, got knocked out by this flu that's been kicking around Bangkok lately, and it meant we had to delay filming and readjust as a video we could do on a short production schedule. But in the end it did let us finally get to a subject that's been fascinating me since we got here. Thanks for your understanding!
Here are the location pins from this video:
Ba Chao Jungle Food: goo.gl/maps/5U4gt3WKwoc5nFkA8
Wraptor (Ari): goo.gl/maps/DQWCJLpFkSx5euXh7
Shree Khodiyar Kathiyawadi Dhaba: goo.gl/maps/VeWpn2zYokKPsZA17
Chuan Wei Fang: goo.gl/maps/bacWezd2N6GPqCut9
Thanks for sharing the locations ❤
Almost like the same paraflu that was knocking around here in the Netherlands…oh no new pandemics!! More chillies!!!
This was very well done and I didn't notice a voice problem.
You ought to do a video on Asia's two chilli pepper outliers: Japan and the Philippines. In contrast to most of Asia, their cuisines barely feature the chilli pepper at all. Within the Philippines there in another outlier: the region of Bicol (southern Luzon), where the chilli is popular. Japan does have its shishito chilli pepper, but it's very mild.
The reason I was taught about why chilies didn’t take hold in Europe was because of poor medical theory.and religious persecution.
The “heat” would throw off your humors causing illness. While many others thought the spice induced lasciviousness and infidelity.the church cracked down on that
What is wrong with your voice? I am watching this as the first of your videos. Is your voic usually different?
The native Americans really came out swinging for the best of food category: chocolate, chilis, tomatoes corn potatoes squash.
I agree but note that these things aren't really that unique in a culinary sense. They spread more because of their higher yield. Can feed more people and make more profit. For example many things similar to potatoes exist all over the world but none could ever be staples like potatoes. And for chillis, there's plenty of things that add heat to dishes. The only difference is heat from chillis persists longer. Probably more unique is the non-heat flavours from chillis, which there isn't equivalents of. Because you can get the heat, for most applications, even just by using a lot of pepper if it's ground fine. But you would have to use a lot for very hot dishes so chilli would be cheaper to do that and the natural choice. Never mind mustard, horseradish, etc. South America didn't have these things but had chilli.
Yeah, they were only somewhat missing with draft animals and a few livestock. Do they chickens pre-contact?
@@nunyabiznes33No, they had llamas, dogs, guinea-pigs, ducks and turkeys.
Vanilla, Sweet Potatos, Avocados, Cassava, peanuts etc
@@utej.k.bemsel4777 but interesting thing is they had Chickens already!! Spanish documented seeing Chickens, Chickens originate from southeast asia but it is believed to have been traded between polynesians and native south american tribes just like the sweet potato which comes from South America
It's weird to think that 500 years ago:
There were no potatoes in Ireland
There were no tomatoes in Italy
There were no chilies in Thailand
And all it cost was my peoples' destruction ;_;
No popcorn, no pizza, no chocolate, no vanilla ice, no pineapple pie, no avocado mole and many, many more!
My respect for the American Natives which bred and cultivated this plants!
The world should thank the Americas
And beans
And squash
And peanuts
And.....
Yeah bizarre..1000 years ago what did they eat in India, Thailand, Ireland etc? Must have been boring lol
Interesting to note, Som Tam (green papaya salad) is arguably Thailand's favorite dish for locals, many of its key ingredients like papaya, chili, tomato, and peanuts actually trace their origins back to the Americas. Global influences have always played a role in shaping local cuisines! No culture exists in isolation.
Fantastic comment and truly interesting to think about. Would love to do a deep dive into whatever "Tam Som" might have included pre-1500s.
No lie detected. Some Italian purists demand Italian recipes are prepared "The Traditional Way", but when you look, many of those recipes contain tomatoes, which originated in the Americas. Pre-Christopher Columbus, tomatoes were unknown in Europe (same with a bunch of ingredients we now take for granted, including potatoes...)
So really, Italian cuisine is a fusion cuisine, and as for tradition, well that's all dependent on how far back you go. After all, traditions have to start somewhere. @@OTRontheroad
And that’s the reason why the origin of Som tum should be from Siam aka Thailand not Laos, because most of the ingredient are from foreign countries, Ayutthaya as a big international city while Laos is a landlocked land.
And this can apply to many Thai food that our neighbor countries love to claim and this channel always tell it’s from them like Som Tum from Laos or Hormok from Cambodia😂
@@vassanab4243 and there's the nationalism argument! Nope, still Lao. I don't really need to go too deep into it because it's a fairly easy thing to research- if you spend 15 minutes on it you should have a pretty good understanding. Although (watch our Khao Yam video for this rant) it IS likely that papaya entered Siam first. So the argument becomes technique vs. ingredients and when you consider a dish a dish. But please don't use this as a cudgel to claim credit for a dish that does have Lao origins.
Today, chillies are so much an integral part of the Indian cuisine that we can't imagine most of our recipes without Chillies (be it green chillies or the dry red chillies).
We from the Southern Central part of India(Telangana) use chilli in most of our recipes and we take pride of the fact that we eat the most spiciest(pungent) food in India because of the amount of the spicy pungent chillies that we use in our cuisine.
Have you tried Naga king chili or Bhut jolkia?
14:32 Something that I've seen food historians omit is the fact that the sauce (Tabasco) derives its name from the peppers which in turn is derived from the Mexican state of Tabasco, named after a prominente, pre-contact, Chontal Maya leader of the region, Tabscoob.
Tabasco also is the state in which the progenitor of Meso-American civilizations originated, the Olmec, alongside with the southern areas of neighboring Vera Cruz. The Olmec were quite possibly first to cultivate the pepper and the cacao plant.
I plan on returning to Tabasco's capital, Villahermosa, later this year.
That's a great note and thank you for pointing it out.
@@OTRontheroadI'm glad I could help by adding this footnote.
You videos are great! I binged on several over the past couple of weeks because they're written so well. I've rewatched a few because they're also very informative. Keep up the great work.
interesting
_Tabasco also is the state in which the progenitor of Meso-American civilizations originated, the Olmec…_
I hope you realize that Amerindians are recent arrivals to the Western Hemisphere, having walked from Asia.
@@John.Flower.Productions
What do you understand from “RECENT ARRIVALS”???
Thanks for the history Adam. Today we can't imaging Thai or especially Korean food without chilies but for thousands of years they were not there. Corn, chilies, and tomatoes all came from the New World and changed the rest of it.
Potatoes too!
This is true of everywhere outside of central & South America.
And chocolate also native to mesoamerica
@@shakiMiki JAJA JAJAJAJAJA CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA DOESNT EAT CHILES AT ALL , IS MEXICAN DEAR MEXICAN CHILES AND SAUCES ARE THE BEAST
@@panterpanterpanter993 Yes, the chili tradition is luckily one that managed to survive the Spanish and European invasion in Mesoamerica. Even rich white people in Mexico eat chili pepper and I wonder if they ever consider the irony of such a thing.
It gives me this weird sense of pride knowing so many things loved all around the world (like chocolate, tomatoes, chillies, tobacco sadly, corn, potatoes, and now even tapioca) originated so close to where I'm from :)
Vanilla, sunflowers, and if you look far back enough.. camels.
It's always fascinated me how the regional cuisines in China differed from spiciness. For example, my native Guangzhou cuisine is not very spicy, but given its historical place as a major port I'd have expected chillis to arrive and had longer to incorporate into the local cuisine! Now it all makes sense, that the ruling elite were not interested in adding the spice into their cuisine, but instead the mountain dwelling regions took to it via the silk road first instead!
Amazing video, love the history content!
Here in New Mexico roasted green chili is the thing, with Hatch chili's being the most famous. Peppers are also allowed to ripen and turn red, then dried, and used to make red chili sauce. You can ask for your dish "Christmas Style" and it will have both green and red sauces, in stripes.
🤍🤍🤍 NM native here!! Hatch green chili is the bestestttt 🌶️💚💚💚
I moved to Arizona 5 years ago and I’m not sure why because it’s close close to NM but the “green chili” here is a joke, so is most of the Mexican food… maybe I’m just bias because I grew up n the best roasted green chili and best dried red chili sauces… I’m sure you know 😋 🤤
I need to come back and just load up during roasting season and freeze a ton to bring back here lol
It’s cool too see a fellow New Mexican in the comments 💚
Yes, NM chilies, sauces and food can be great, but unfortunately restaurants where I live in SE NM are pretty mediocre. Santa Fe, Albuquerque, or Las Cruces are a different story.
In Dutch, if we want to refer to something luxuriously expensive we refer to it as "peperduur", referencing black pepper being expensive during the dutch indian trading company times
wow that's really cool to know! thank you
This phrase exists in Hungarian: 'Borsos ára van'.
Don't know if other countries picked up on it.
One thing that made chili so widespread was its easyness to grow. It's a shrub that can bears fruit within months, while black pepper is a tree that needs years until it can bears fruit. So it's the cheaper alternative to black pepper.
Actually paprika powder was created by the Spanish in the XVI century (pimentón), the Hungarians loved it and started using it a lot in their cuisine almost 300 years later, but they didn't invent it.
For those who like spiciness of curry but does not like coconut cream with curry, "jungle curry" or "Gaeng Pa" in Thai is the one to go to. The first time I tasted Gaeng Pa more than 5 decades ago as a student in intermediate school about 55 years ago at the school cafeteria, I immediately knew that this is the one for me. It is full of favors with a variety of spices mixed in, so refreshing. Since that day, other curry can only be a second or third place. Gaeng Pa always holds the first place. It goes well with newly cooked jasmine rice.
"jungle curry" แปลตรงไปเปล่า เข้าใจเฉพาะคนไทย เมือน banana wood ที่ฝรั่งเข้าใจว่าเอาไม้ไปแกะสลักเป็นกล้วย ไม่ใช่กล้วยไม้
@@rickfreunde5957 กรณีนี้ Jungle curry ดีแล้วครับ เพราะรสชาติได้
My favorite after jungle curry is แกงรัญจวน but it's hard to find. I've only eaten it a few times.
แถวบ้านมีแกงระแวง ไม่รู้จะแปลว่าอะไร suspicious and alertness curry
Does all curry have turmeric? I can’t seem to train myself to like turmeric so I’ve avoided all curry.
Thanks for the video.. being an Indian from South I have always wondered how chillies entered our cuisine because we use black peppers a lot for spice in traditional dishes like kootu (coconut gravy based veggie dish)
Grew up on the Caribbean Islands Brids Eye were everywhere in the wild
@@troystpaul100really
So Fluffy had it backwards: Indians love hot and spicy; Mexicans invented hot and spicy.
While the Silk Road may have been a route of spread, the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade surely played a role too 😊😊
100% but it’s just all about timing in terms of what happened first- I’d have loved to have gone another 20 years with this story to talk about the Philippines and South Korea and a ton of other stories but it would have been endless
Definitely played a role in sweet potato spread to mainland from what I heard. Saw a vid saying that it's just one pair of Chinese merchants who found it while trading in Manila and thought it'll be good to bring home.
I consider myself a chili head but I never took the time to understand the full history and migration of the chili pepper but I had always wondered. Thank you so much for putting this together! The Thai jungle curries can really light you up but so far an Isan style Som Tum with more raw chilies than green papaya had wrecked me the most. Phet Phet For Life!
In North Africa, we (still) call the Mexican chili pepper (the thin long red one) "felfel barlaabid", which literally translates to "pepper from the land of the Slaves" (since it came from the americas)
Wow- that’s interesting! Had no idea.
but africa was the land of slave too
@@randangbalado there was slavery everywhere, enslaving all sorts of races, but I guess from the African perspective, ships come to take slaves to America, so America must be filled with slaves
@@pardismack They didn't take them, they bought them for weapons and liquor. It was black Africans who went far into the African continent to collect people who they sold as slaves. Unfortunately, slavery still happens in Africa.
I remember being shocked when I first discovered a couple of years ago that chilli peppers were nonexistent outside the americas pre Columbus!
I mean, I knew from childhood that Corn, Potatos, Tomatos and Tobacco all came from there. but even chillis? I somehow assumed that there have always been variants all over the world. Both African and asian cuisine rely heavily on it. I cannot imagine a world without chilis!
Did u know also tabacco vanilla and cocaine came from there?
@@citrusblast4372On cocaine, it’s the prototype drug that all local anesthetics are derived from, we wouldn’t have local anesthetics!
There were actually variants of peppers that we used before chilli's arrived, in Indonesian the word we have for chilli (cabe) is actually older than chili itself and it used to refer to a type of long pepper
@@luiskp7173 There were various other -caines before the introduction of cocaine.
@@cloroxbleach9222 all chile peppers have their origin in Mexico
One tiny part that you're forgetting is the piment d'Espelette, from Basque country. They started growing chilies in Espelette in 1650. And it is today a staple of French south-western cooking. Basquaise chicken, pâtés, piperade and the classique chocolate and chili pie. In that region, it is as revered as paprika in Hungary : in september houses are covered with pepper braids, like onions.
OTR team,
Thank you for doing this fantastic journalistic piece. Appreciate the research work going into making this highly educational video filled with interesting facts. Well done to Adam and the entire team!
Factual, no click baits, historical, explaining and from the heart...
Subd and recommended!
Man this channel is a hidden gem. You guys will hit a 100k very soon. Amazing amazing research, great images and slides, and love the trail you're making.
Really interesting video, Adam! The idea here that archaeologists, linguists, and botanists all tell different stories of the origins of the chili pepper is fascinating in broad contexts, showing how history isn't just one perspective. All the side stories you share make the story even more engaging.
I lived and worked in the border region of Argentina and Bolivia. What I missed most from home in California was chili. The food was excellent and fresh but was rarely spicy. Working in agriculture, I roamed the area, checking crops, meeting locals, and eating local food, mostly grilled beef and chicken, potatoes, and bread. The local tribal groups had peppers picked from the wild and all were small and round and very hot. I think they only cooked with them because the ones I ate tasted terrible. I just noticed how you described northern Bolivia as a variety hot bed. The south seemed quite the opposite.
This was nice. I have grown 100+ different varieties and Piri Piri was my 2nd chili to grow back in 2009. Didn't know that it is that old chili. Was very easy plant with plenty harvest 🙂
Seriously, this was one of my favorite episodes! Huge thanks and respect to your hard work on this video. 🙏
Korea's national food turned red after the Portuguese brought peppers to Asia.
The Portuguese brought the peppers from Mexico. They are native to the Americas not Europe.
I'm aware of that fact@@frisco9568
Spanish from New Spain, present day Mexico.
@@frisco9568 Bruh we all watched the video, why are you repeating the video when no one said peppers come from Europe?
Chillis are the best berries, and black pepper peppercorns are the second-best for me~ Love the presentation you all made. I'm so glad I randomly stumbled across your channel! And you are correct -- eating capsaicin on a regular basis literally retrains the receptors for it to become less sensitive to its presence, allowing the diner to take on ever-hotter peppers and concoctions!
What are we gonna do without berries
Black peppercorns don’t have capsaicin like chilis. Their heat actually soothes digestion instead of upset it.
@@mikewhocheeseharry5292do you have more info on this actually, have been curious about that for a while
Agreed! without Asia, Hindustan, and the Americas, we would all be eating pretty lame foods.
@@krono5el why did you switch to hindustan for India while writing the rest of the comment in English 😂😂
I am from kerala the southern state of India. You analysis is interesting the birds eye chillies grow wild in this part of kerala and is widely usd in chudneys and pickling. We call them 'Kandari'. But when preparing curries kashmiri chillies are commonly used.
When I eat a very spicy dish, I thank native american farmers for cultivating chili peppers. Without their skill and instinct, every cuisine wouldn't be as exciting or interesting. Sichuan la zi chicken is an awesome dish. My first memory of loving chili spice was a hot & sour soup that melted my brain. I had boring toned down hot & sour soup hundreds of times in Taiwan and LA. Then one time we went to a place in southern CA that made it extra hot and that got me addicted to spice :)
@@John.Flower.Productionsbullshit
As a chef, i say thanks for the in depth exploration in chilli, love it.
Next is tomato?
its pretty much the same story lol. no potato, no chili, no tomato, no corn. Probably involved the silk road at some point.
Phew, finally someone able to fill in a missing gap I'd been looking for post-Columbus Exchange, which was, how did chillies spread through SE Asia, which is related to your search to find how they arrived in Thailand! Thanks for doing the heavy lifting and making such an informative video! If you are ever back in the States, give me a shout and happy to give you a tour of NYCs Chinatowns and whatever is going on over here.
The question is why in the last 20 years those who couldn't eat chili started to eat more and more spicy food?
(including me)
And as you start to eat chili you keep eating hotter food.
The funny thing is the hot taste was developed in chili to deter mammals. Why on earth we kept eating it after getting burned the first time !?
At least in "western countries" "ethnic food" has generally become more widespread and more culturally acceptable to eat. Thai restaurants, Mexican restaurants, Indian restaurants, etc are all more common then they were in the 90s. Spicey snack food's such as flaming hot Cheetos, Takis, and more are easy to get and expose people to spice at a young age. Now that spicey food is easier to get it is easier to build up a tolerance.
Great question!
✌️
In Mexico he have
Chiltepin
Jalapeño
Serranos
Chilaca
Poblano
Yahualica
De arbol
Puya
Manzano
Habanero
And the list goes on the phenotypes are crazy so much variation in the same strain
Habanero’s and Manzano’s are not chilis.
@@setoman1 in Mexico they are called chile habanero and chile manzano
@@robertopena8645 Botanically, this is incorrect.
Love your channel and all the research and work y’all put into it. Thank you! ❤😊
Awesome! Really really enjoyed your video, Thankyou for making it ! 🙏👌😊
I'm not a lightweight when it comes to spice. I lived in Thailand, including the Isaan. I've eaten a whole raw ghost pepper. But the phrase, "spiciest restaurant in all of Bangkok" scares me!
Excellent episode- one of your best! Bourdain would be proud.
loved watching this. you've put so much info in it, and so clear.
This was a fabulous documentary - great - subscribed - wonderful.
Wow, fantastic content - i cant imagine a world without this little spicy "fruit" , the Chili peppers ! Thanks for another amazing research, i appreciate your work and love it ! my compliments for this historically spiced vid.👍👋🙏
If you get a chance, visit the Tabasco company in Avery Island, Louisiana. Its a monster pepper farm and factory. They give great tours in beautiful south Louisiana. I think they produce like a 3 million bottles per week.👍
Absolutely fantastic video, well made and edited. Fascinating - thanks for sharing.
I'm so happy this ended up in my feed. As a foodie and history nerd this was a delight, what well researched and brilliantly done video, thank you!
Really informative video. I knew that chillies came to India via Portuguese in 16th century along with a lot of other stuff like tomatoes etc which are now an inseparable part of Indian cuisine.
So truly amazing! Thanks for your intellect and research. I'm blown away
Great video. I’m loving this style. Thanks for all your work 🤟
What an utterly fantastic video. I loved every second of it, instantly subscribed to your channel.
I would really appreciate if you could add Thai subtitles, so that I can share this gem with my Thai friends.
I will look forward your next video !
Another minor request would be for you to write down on the screen the name of the dishes and the places you are at.
In Thai restaurants or street food vendors you might notice some of them has free veggies/sliced cucumber. Eat them while having spicy menu. It'd help you dealing with the spiciness better.
What a great history lesson, I really enjoyed the presentation and the detail was great but not overwhelming. And now I'm subscribed!
This is great channel. Thank you for the history
The New World gave and continues giving, so much to the World. Amazing.
That restaurant is definitely on our list for our trip in January. The jungle curry looked amazing!
Excellent and informative video! Thank you
I learn something new and fascinating every time I watch an OTR video. Thanks!
Wow. I had no idea that sweet peppers owe their ancestry to chilis. New subscriber. Really interesting channel. Over The Rainbow!
Now THIS is my type of video mate!! 🌶️❤️ I can't imagine a life without chilli ever again.
This is so well researched, written and presented. I rarely watch a 32 min. vid front to back. (short span of attention, perhaps) This was so well done.
Wonderfully comprehensive and informative. Well done!
There are a few relevant omissions.
The main route Mexican chili arrived in Asia was through the "Nao de China" that started trade from today's Philippines and Mexico from 1565 onwards.
The red bell pepper is the adaptation of the poblano chile to Spain, that pepper turns sweet just after a few generation (about 2 years)
Spaniards' also found out that some other varieties of chiles would remain hot when grown in their north African colonies (I.e. Morocco and the Canary Islands).
The only Latin-American countries that have chili in their typical food are México, Perú and to a lesser degree Guatemala.
Capsicum Annuum has a Mexican origin and Capsicum
Frutescens origin is Peruvian.
Chesse dip is not Mexican food, it is a US thing you don't find in Mexico unless you're in an US restaurant food chain.
Portugal got access to chili in Africa from the Spanish colonies trough trade and the rest is history, The Portuguese didn't really go inland n Brazil, they remained mostly close to the sea (check the location of most of the city's they founded) and it's really unlikely they had access to the wild chilis from deep in the Amazon.
I love this story. When I was a kid, you would see birds eye peppers growing wild all over south Texas. They were often used mixed with vinegar, bottled and found on restaurant tables. It was often used to give a simple spinich receipe more flavor.
It’s strange this vid doesn’t even refer to the birds eye pepper aka the chiltepin, because botanists many say is the original pepper
Same! You can still find tabasco peppers in vinegar on most store shelves here. I keep a bottle of it around for when I make collard/mustard/turnip greens and cornbread.
Informative and fascinating. Thanks.
Thanks for the interesting history of the awesome chilli.
I'm from Cape Town South Africa which is where we had Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships stop along their routes to the middle east, the British then eventually claimed the territory which is why you then mainly mention Mozambique as the Portuguese waypoint as it remained a Portuguese colony..
I love the Birdseye chilli and had it growing in my yard requiring very little upkeep.
Great episode, Adam. All I know is that I took a tiny bite out of the "Ring of Fire" Thai chili I'm growing and the burn lasted for more than an hour, even after a couple of beers. I've eaten just about every chili pepper available from Thailand to the US, and that has to be one of the hottest I've ever tasted. I'm waiting for the peppers to turn red, hoping for a smokier flavor to balance the heat, but we'll see. Let Daria know that the best way to deal with the peppers in that Jungle Curry is to have a bottle or more of beer standing by, and never drink water to soften the heat. I'm glad you posted this one since it goes well with the history of Southeast Asia I just finished, and the Henry Kissinger volume next, and I'm in the middle of a comprehensive history of China, all of which make mention of the trade routes over the past several millennia. Without chili peppers, it's certain that life would be much more boring, and I have to thank our avian friends.
Good one and a really interesting VLOG! Thank you.
Fascinating stuff, thanks so much for this outstanding story.
It’s really interesting that Spain brought chilies to Europe and they had very little influence in Spain’s cuisine. I’m telling ya, there are no spicy dishes here hahah
Pimenton?
@@higashirinchiah1013 it’s true we have 2 varieties , and one of them is “spicy” , but no one really uses that one that much. I didn’t know what was spicy until I went to Thailand
@@lauracamargo3229 it's more likely the South East Asia's varieties are blow your mind spicy. I guess this part of the world, we pick the spiciest ones to propagate 🤣 and Spain chose the less spicy varieties but both came from similar origin. If you run through most South East Asian recipes, chili is only used in small quantity in comparison to the ridiculously long list and amount herbs used
As an American (with European family) I'm always disappointed by how tame European food is. (Except for the desserts. European desserts are awesome.)
Britain is especially bad - every now and again you'll see videos going around of British people being unable to handle the "hot" offerings of US chains, which most Americans would consider a notch or two above mild.
Then again, you could probably just argue that our tastebuds are fried from putting hot sauce on everything... 😅
Good topic and good research. You could make the voice over less worded though
People argue against Mexico having the best food. Let Italians and indians cook without chilis, corn, tomatoes or chocolate.
This neatly answers a question I’ve had for a long time. Thanks!
What was your question?
My dude! Birds are a CLASS, with thousands of species.
Good video with lots of good information. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, I said "species" in the colloquial sense and it didn't hit me when I was writing how misleading that is (given the actual meaning of the term). Just bad writing on my part, not an intentional misstatement
Bruuuh. This is quality doc production. Enjoyed it.
Fantastic video, very informative and well researched! You've earnt a subscribe! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent video, I especially enjoyed the origin of how "pepper" became the English name of the fruit.
A little fun fact: I live in Hungary and the name of Cayenne-pepper was mistranslated because of this. I assume they only saw the powdered form.... well anyway...
A friend of mine heard the birds were immune to the heat from chilies, so he fed some old chilies flakes to his chickens, which greatly distressed the chickens. It seems that not all birds are entirely immune to the heat from chilies.
Don't tell me that chickens that are fed with Chilly died and cooking them is what the history of Chilly Chicken
LOVE HISTORY AND FOOD!!!! Tasting History with Max Miller, Townsends and now this channel! Very cool!
Let’s appreciate how hard work and insidious research they did on these channel vids. Ngl, not everyone know about this regionly-good places in Thailand at the very beginning.
Thanks for mentioning Hungary, the country that out of all Europeans probably adopted the plant most strongly in Europe, using it in pretty much every dish and having it's own unique varieties. When people talk about Europe they tend to concentrate on the western countries and tend to overlook places further east.
Not sure why you don't have more subscribers. This channel is amazing, great job
Thanks for the in-depth info. Very good.
11:36 As a Mexican it hurts for you to refer to the cheese dip and hard shell quesadilla you had in Bangkok as Mexican cuisine 🤣 that's of course the US take on Mexican inspired flavors but definitely not representative (as in Mac&cheese refered as Italian food). Still of course, nice piece and amazing story but please come to (southern) Mexico, you'll die on the use and varieties of chilis, uses and flavors @OTR
You deserve more follows, I will push your videos on my Twitter. If it means anything, I just want you to know a rando recognizes your talent.
Very kind. Thanks so much.
Great video. Just what I've wanted to know for a long time.
I rarely watch a youtube video from start to finish, but this video was interesting, lovely, and educational all in one.
Thanks for the upload and the wonderful video.
In my opinion, there are only 3 tier 1 chilli/spicy hot cultures in the world. India, Thailand and Mexico. Well may be, the neighbouring countries of all 3 countries too by virtue of its association with these countries. Among these India tops because most of its curries use all 3 forms of chillies/peppers to form unique flavour combinations, red chilli powder from Kashmiri/Guntur chillies, raw green Brazilian / birds eye chilli and the most authentic black pepper powder or paste. The rest are all countries using milder chilli/peppers like South East Asia, China, North Africa etc flavorful but not the intense spicy flavour of the original 3
When i saw OTR noti
Beers = ready
Snack = ready
After i finish ur vids
I need to order jungle curry😂😂
Just discovered your channel m8 ,absolutely love it
Amazing work! It reminds me to Anthony Bourdain's early videos, with great research, great content and best of all, great food.
at this point, I just watch your video without caring about context. Love your work as always.
Ps. maybe you should open a membership. I really love to support you guys for making this quality content.
Incredibly kind of you, really appreciate it. Will look into the membership idea- for now, Patreon really keeps us going. That would be the best way to help us if you felt inclined. www.patreon.com/OTRontheroad is the link
Seeds don't have much capsaicin, it's the white ribs/membranes they are connected to that contain the heat...
Just stumbled across your channel and i love it! New subscriber. Its like a mix of good history and that best food review show. ❤😊
I can't imagine life without chillies 😅
Thai people are natural engineers. They always take something from other places ... improve to make them better ... then spread and give back to the world. This is why culture is all connected and no culture today is pure, not even Chinese nor Egyptian nor Greek.
Yea, no offense buddy but nothing about Thai peppers is better than the indigenous originals. Good? Sure. Better? Get real, do you have any clue how diverse chilli peppers and their uses are in Mexico? They put that shit on candy in Mexico and give it to 5 year olds. They know chilli peppers better than Thailand.
@@David-ol6fw That's why there is 1 Mexican restaurant for every 678 Mexican people, and there is 1 Thai restaurant for every 55 Thai people in the US.
I guess no one wants to eat Mexican food. Mexican food might taste good for you Mexican people good but not for most people. Sorry, numbers dont lie. Thai people use Mexican chili to cook good food that people enjoy to eat and most people, esp none Mexican and none Thai people, prefer Thai food to Mexican food.
@@Muay-MMA This is so funny because your numbers are horrendously incorrect. I get it, you're Thai and you're proud. Don't care, no one outside of Thailand gives a shit about Thai food no matter how much your government tries to promote it.
@@Muay-MMA Imagine having your whole government subsidizing your entire restaurant business abroad only for people to still prefer to eat at a local mom and pop taco joint 😭😭
@@David-ol6fw Thai government can subsidize all they want but if Thai food tastes bad, no one will eat it. Example? No offense to you, even Mexican government exports Mexican immigrants to America to spread Mexican food, most people still ignore Mexican food to eat Thai food xD
Like I said, Thai people always make things better and they cook food better than Mexican food. Most Thai restaurants in the US are run by none-Thai people and they cook better than authentic Mexican food. Stats and number dont lie :P
Great information!!
Great video. I've been wondering about the origins of chili use, so this was a perfect find for me!
07:41 according to Javanese manuscripts and inscriptions that date back to the 10th century, Javanese long pepper (Piper retrofracrum) was what used in recipes before the advent of chili pepper.
As for the current chili peppers that we know and love, in Indonesia we're taught in school that they were brought to the Indonesian archipelago in the 15th century by the Portuguese during the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan.
Just like in Thailand, we in Indonesia can't imagine our food without chili peppers. So some might say that it's the only good thing that came from Western colonization 😥
Interesting story. It wouldn't have been from the 15th century- that would be impossible as Magellan didn't start sailing until 1505. In my opinion it's likely that chilis would have arrived from India prior to Magellan's arrival. But as he did participate in the colonization of Malacca...maybe it's possible? Feels like a legend but there's not a zero chance
@@OTRontheroad whoops, sorry, I always get my centuries mixed up. It was supposed to be 16th century. I saw fifteen hundreds and immediately thought 15th century 😅 Our history books at school only mention chilies in passing, but it is said after Magellan died in the Philippines on 27th of April 1521, his ships went on and arrived in Spice Islands (Maluku, eastern Indonesia) on 8 November. But is also said that the Portuguese were already in contact with the islands at least 15 years prior to that. So there was also the possibility that chilies had been brought over by other Portuguese vessels that sailed eastward from Europe to the Spice Islands via the Indian Ocean (as opposed to Magellan’s westward expedition from Spain passing the Pacific). Another less popular theory is that it was the Spanish who brought it to Indonesia, landing in North Sulawesi after the Philippines. It’s all speculations, really.
@@KilanEatsandDrinks I love this kind of speculation. And see my edit to the above post- I did look it up and it does seem like Magellan was at Malacca in 1511 when the Portuguese took over...so....maybe?
@@OTRontheroad IKR? I wouldn’t discount the Spanish theory either. Not directly related with chilies, but in some places in Maluku ‘tomato’ is ‘kamatil’ which is similar to ‘kamatis’ in Tagalog, which is of course a Spanish loan word and ultimately from Nahuatl ‘tomatl’. If only those Spanish forts in eastern Indonesia could talk…
@@KilanEatsandDrinks I was really optimistic about tracing the genetic origin of each strain and figuring out its path that way. But then India f****** everything up by liking the peppers and using all varietals, then it all gets crazy
Underrated channel for sure. Glad the algorithm blessed me
great content - its always beena amazing to me how chilies transformed so many cuisines so far from their origins
Anyone who ever screams about cultural appropriation needs to watch this. It's not appropriation it's appreciation.
Yes 🙌🏻
Exactly.
And some of those same people smoke tobacco, appropriated from indigenous Americans and turned into a slave based industry for 400 years.
Anyone using that term is already a helpless moron.
It is so interesting that the two countries (Spain and Portugal) that brought chilis to the east, didn’t fully embrace it into their own cuisines.
nobody the europeans hate more than thee Indigenous Americans. so they hated their food for a long time too.
Chili kinda ruins food for me, I want to enjoy food and it's flavors, spicy things only mask the flavors and to me are used to mask bad food.
@@Ivan-hb3co It enhances flavour, like salt.
@@Ivan-hb3co There are plenty of varieties you can cook with that are less hot than even the _relatively_ mild Jalapenos so you can taste the fruit itself rather than the heat. Hungarian Hotwax, Banana peppers etc. In Carribean cooking they often put a whole Sctch Bonnet in stews and remove it before serving to get the flavour but not the heat (they may chop it up afterwards and use it but it flavours things nicely if left whole)
Nope Spanish embraced it in their DNA.. That's why Spanish women are hot