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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2015 Food 35 Fine food of the week CHILLI peppers feature on the recipe list of a number of recipes from starters to main courses and desserts. However choosing the appropriate chilli pepper is not always easy, due to the variation in pungency in different varieties. Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings – bell peppers, sweet pep- pers and hot peppers with most popular varieties falling into one of these catego- ries or a cross between them. The substances that give chilli peppers their intensity are capsaicin and several other related chemicals. Reacting with pain receptors in the mouth, signals are sent to the brain which in turn increase the heart rate, produce perspiration and release endorphins. The heat of chilli peppers was historical- ly measured in Scoville heat units, which is a measure of how much a chilli extract must be diluted in sugar syrup before its heat becomes undetectable to a panel of tasters. Modern commonplace methods for quantitative analysis uses high-per- formance liquid chromatography to di- rectly measure the capsiacinoid content of a chilli pepper variety. Chilli peppers can be used fresh, dried or pickled for culinary purposes. Dried chil- lies can also be ground into powder. The chilli pepper is an important ingredient in dishes all over the world from the Far East to the Western World. The leaves of the chilli plant are mildly bitter but nowhere as near as hot as the fruits that come on the same plant. They are use in Filipino cuisine where they are cooked as "greens". They are also used in Korean, Japanese dishes. Psychologists believe that eating chilli is an example of 'contained risk', whereby extreme sensations, like pain, can be en- joyed because individuals know that the sensation will not actually cause bodily harm. The same theories are put forward for roller coaster riding, where riders enjoy the sensation of fear as they know they are not going to fall out. Eating chilli is viewed as a warrior's rit- ual in Japan because its spiciness is said to mentally block fear. By forcing themselves to eat chillies, warriors' mental state is set to get stronger, leaving them feeling in- vincible when stepping out onto the bat- tlefield. Archaeological evidence in Ecuador sug- gests chillies have been domestically culti- vated for more than 6,000 years and were one of the first cultivated crops in Central and South America. Christopher Columbus first encountered the chilli pepper in the Caribbean and brought them to Europe where they were mainly grown as botanical curiosities in the gardens of Spanish and Portuguese monasteries. Monks eventually began to experiment with their culinary potential and discovered that their pungency offered a substitute for black peppercorns, which at the time were so costly they were used as a legal currency in some countries. Recipe of the week Cheese-stuffed jalapeño peppers Spice up your meals with red hot chilli peppers Ingredients • 15 jalapeño peppers, halved lengthways and seeds removed • 250g cheddar cheese, cut into strips to fit inside the halved jalapeños • ¼ cup breadcrumbs • ¼ cup bacon bits, grilled until crispy and chopped Method 1. Place a strip of cheese inside each half of the jalapeños. 2. Top with bacon bits and breadcrumbs. 3. Grill the peppers under a hot grill for 4-6 mins until the cheese is melted. 4. Serve warm.