Salsas Of Yore

While on the topic of chili peppers, a study to be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined food remains found in two caves in southern Mexico dating from around 1500 years ago. The scientists found parts from at least 10 different cultivars of chili peppers, which were used both fresh and dried (fresh and dried peppers show different breakage patterns). As the lead author Linda Perry puts it: “You don’t grow seven different kinds of chilies unless you’re cooking some pretty interesting food.”