Treebeard's Stumper 10 December 1999

Pyrophagy! (eating fire)

One of my official duties at today's Dunn Middle School El Mercado celebration is to judge the salsa contest. I can take it! I love fiery hot chile peppers. Chile stumpers abound. What was Thai food like before Columbus brought chiles from the New World? What's the best antidote? My chile stumper is a natural history question. Chiles are brightly colored fruit like others that attract animals to eat and pass their seeds for dispersal. But the very hottest part of the chile surrounds the seeds. Doesn't this picante heat defeat the whole purpose of the fruit?

All chile peppers, even these frosted mild bell peppers in a field near school, turn bright red and yellow colors when ripe to attract animals and birds to eat them and pass the seeds with a bit of natural fertilizer. See my Birds and Berries (14 Nov 97) stumper for more information on endozoic seeds.	Vince won the Dunn Middle School El Mercado salsa contest with these fine homemade salsas. That's a mild salsa fresca on the left made with fresh tomatoes and onions, and a tasty tomatillo salsa verde on the right. The front bowl is a picante salsa made with hot habenaro chiles. Vince had a warning sign on this one!

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