I am in love with Wild Chiltepin -- the closest known relative to the first Mother Chile. Untold numbers of humans have been seduced by this tiny, but powerful fruit, for thousands of years. How do I know this? Human coprolites, or "pellets", tell us that humans have been ingesting wild chiles for more than 8000 years(Callen 1965; Nabhan 1997, Hodgson 2001)! And while some foods provide empty calories, this wild chile pepper is nourishing. It is a rich source of vitamins A,C,B2, niacin, and potassium.
When we put our fingers around one of these ancient chiles, we are holding a tiny, fragrant, time capsule, smaller than a pea. Picking just one chile connects us to all the other humans who, for thousands of years, have reached for wild chiles, in just the same way today. I am quite smitten with this connectedness to peoples in times past. My mind roams to all the women, men, and children who have picked this closest-chile-relative for eight thousand years! I marvel at the constancy of this wild chile as times of peace and conflict arose and fell, intonations of dialects morphed, languages died out or were born, different technologies, parenting styles, spiritual beliefs, and values arose and fell away. And still this little chile maintained itself. It resisted domestication. It insisted on wildness.
And with it's wildness comes a flavor that cannot be beat.
Tasting chiltepin right off the bush is a surprising experience. Unlike domesticated chiles - that burn with less heat, but a heat that lasts on the tongue - the chiltepin is more like the flame of a match. It's heat reveals itself quickly, but subsides more quickly too.This seems to hold true for the unripe, green chiltepin as well as the fresh or dried red fruits.
Harvesting chiletpin is a fragrant affair. As the fruit ripens from green to dark purple, then from orange to a dark red, it easily separates from the plant. There is a distinct aroma as the tiny fruit separates from the mother plant, and joins others in the harvesting sack. This is definitely an experience to be savored.! A fruity-chile aroma wafts into your olfactory-factory; and it is a smell you can taste on your tounge and feel on your skin.
Looking at the structure of this wild chile (below) reveals why it does not need humans to reproduce. In Gathering the Desert, Gary Nabhan writes, "The domesticated chiles are mostly pendant, rather than being erect on the stem in a position so that birds can reach them. Whereas chiletpines ripen quickly and stick out above the foliage like sore thumbs, domesticated Capsicums like peppers hang to the ground below the plants' foliage...". The quick ripening, and small size, mean that birds have a complete seed package to eat and distribute easily. Compare this strategy to that to larger chiles - which hang down, take longer to ripen, and are larger, therefore harder to carry if you are a bird, and you can see clearly why this chile has thrived for so many years.
If growing this plant is something that you would like to try in your own garden, keep in mind that chiltepin needs a nurse plant. It loves legumes, like mesquite, and large thorny bushes like Hackberry. Wildness appears to require relationship, and the chiltepin will thrive in a guild relationship where it can be shaded from the sun in the hot summers, and protected from frost in the winters. If you plant chiltepin with your domesticated chile annuals, in direct sun, it will likely die. If you nurture it under a nurse plant, it will thrive into the perennial it is - and can live for years, if not decades. I have watched and tracked chiletpin plants on our ranch in Mexico for over 15 years, and they were large and thriving well before we arrived!
Which brings us back to Wildness. To paraphrase Michael Pollan, wildness is more a quality than it is a place "out there". It cannot be bought nor manufactured - but it can be invited in. to invite some wildness into your life and garden with this wild plant can stir you in unexpected ways.
If you would like to learn to cook with this wild chile, email Cookingfreshtucson@gmail.com. My cooking partner Sally and I delight in using these ancient foods in our lives and kitchens daily. I'll post a photo of our Wild Chile University class, that was a fundraiser for Native Seeds SEARCH (a wonderful organization and a good place to by chiltepin to cook with, or seeds to sow. They are located in Tucson, AZ and on the web at: Nativeseeds.org). Recipes will be posted soon.
Think about experimenting with this tiny chile that packs such a punch - (yet is reported to be BENEFICIAL for the gastric world). It's versatility ranges from salsas, soups, beans and eggs, to adding it to salad dressings, spicy peanut sauces, cupcakes, coco ... I use it literally EVERY DAY!
One note: the oils on any chile can stay on your fingers for a time - and can be easily rubbed into eyes or other parts of the body that are painful. Take care to wash your hands well, or is a spoon or a grinder. (Native Seeds SEARCH sells little grinders made JUST for this type of chile pepper - Nativeseeds.org)
Harvesting wild chiles in Sonora, MX
Chocolate-chiltepin cupcake
To buy this special chile for cooking or sowing:
*** Nativeseeds.org
To learn to cook with this fine, wild chile:
*** Cookingfreshtucson@gmail.com
To buy an already established chiltepin plant:
***Crosspollinating@gmail.com
Happy Gardening and Happy Cooking!
Linda,
ReplyDeleteThis blog post from the Little Red Blog of Revolutionary Knitting looks like a kindred post to those on your blog.
http://stealthissweater.blogspot.com/2010/09/autumn.html
On another note, I am venturing to do at least one thing fun for the rest of the year. Want to join? I am chronicling my study of fun on my blog. I started on Tuesday. Yesterday, day 93, was Liliko'i (passion fruit) melon agua fresca.
All the best from the middle of the Pacific.
hello all, and thanks for your great site...I love to see the wild Chiltepins.....
ReplyDeletedo they tolerate a complete dry-out, or are they always in a bit of a wooded or
brushy wash, with their companion trees/bushes throwing a bit of selective shade? Ajnd so
therefore, even when the leaves drop, they have a bit of water down there?
Up here in Philly, our sun is not as strong...and so I've had my old plants,
two, gnarly and growing together and abouty eight years old....(from a hot
pepper starter place in New Jersey) outside in summer, and inside in winter.
When I bring them in I give them a good trim, leaving a few sentinel leaves,
and the green stems. Then, in weeks, shoots. I have to watch out for aphids,
and maybe spray middle of winter. By spring, I might almost have flowers and
I'm ready to plant in sandy loamy soil. Which I believe mirrors the soils in the
little arroyitos and washes where the rocks are crumbling to sand and bits of organic material can
take a long time to break down.
Sometimes I add fertilizer. Fish sauce from the asian food store does just fine,
diluted with water. Lots of water. Just a few drops of the stinky stuff.
That's been my system, and its okay for now.....
I've been able to finally germinate the seeds using a soil mix that is, guess what,
mostly decomposed wood. There were a few slender parasol mushrooms,
a lovely white mold, and then the seeds went blam and germinated.
This was a surprise, cause I thought this stuff was peat, which has been said to be a no-no,
but it really was broken down wood and it worked. Maybe I better save a bit of it for the
mycelium, don't know. I also roughed up the seeds a good deal before I dumped em
in the soil, the second time when i did it deliberately and it worked again.
These, then, are the confessions of a Philadelphia Chiltepin grower!
Yours,
Terry
Terry - you made my day! Let's see: They do seem to tolerate an ALMOST total dry-out as long as it is not too extended an amount of time.
DeleteIn life, as well as in gardening, there seems to be so Many ways to to just one thing. I love that there is not not one way to do Anything! It is fun for me to to read how you are making Life with Chiltepins work for you in Philly.
Thank you so much for sharing in such detail! I hope it will inspire the Spirit of Innovation and Experimentation in all who read your comment! Please stay in touch. Maybe post a photo of your chiles! I have a feeling that your two eight year old plants have MANY more years in them.
Thanks again for writing!
Warmly,
Linda
Rosa -- Thanks so very much for your Loving It ! Do you grow chilies? Or want to?
ReplyDelete