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Hot Pepper History?

Wondering if someone could point me in the direction of some sort of history of hot pepper stuff... when different varieties became available, different hot sauces, etc. as well as chilihead culture/trading/networking, etc. ...or maybe some anecdotal information on this topic.
 
In 1995, I was 22 years old. Unless it was just me becoming aware of it, there was a big hot pepper boom around this time. A couple of stores in my area opened and I spent quite a bit of time sampling & bought a few sauces at that time & in the following years. I could be VERY wrong about this, but I remember being told the orange habanero was the hottest pepper available at that time & Dave's Insanity being the hottest sauce on the market. I wasn't really too aware of the pepper industry from 1998 until recently. I'd ask for things spicy at restaurants. I grew orange habaneros, cayennes & jalapenos. I'd hear about ghost peppers & superhots, but just didn't have much interest in any of it until recently. Trying to filling in the gaps in my understanding of pepper history pre-mid 90s boom and since then.
 
Of course, I know many varieties have been used in the area they're indigenous to for generations, but curious about when some were available here. Also interested in the evolution of chilehead culture itself too. 
 
Thanks in advance. Maybe this is silly. I don't know.
 
Thank you for asking this. I've been interested in the history/stories of hot pepper varieties. It would be great if the people that know them, would write them up and post them here. Maybe a new sub-forum, some places to gather them all with the info of who developed/selected them or introduced them. Where they came from, or what the crosses were, etc.
 
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The beginning chapters of Dave DeWitt's The Complete Chile Pepper Book from a few years back go into at least some detail about historical classifications and dispersions.
 
For many here, it's old news, but I did learn a few things in my reading of it, including that he needed to hire a better editor. ;)
 
And the foreward and opening chapters of Jean Andrews' - "The Pepper Lady" (RIP)The Peppers Cookbook also go into some detail about origins, dispersal, and etymology (some of the references on this I've seen nowhere else before). It's a pretty damn good cookbook on top of that, but may be OOP at this stage. Jean was a local culinary celebrity of some note here in Austin (and had traveled the world for pleasure, but also for peppers), but passed a few years back.
 
edit: In revisiting her obit here it appears her first book on chiles was actually written in '84. Peppers: The Domesticated Capsicums. I can't imagine that one is still in print, but it might could yield results as well. Not sure.
 
Please keep us in the loop if you find more/better/more recent additions. I love reading about this sort of thing and I'm not alone, I suspect.
 
thechileman.org is great for searching pepper varieties, but it seems somewhat lagging nowadays, especially on newer varieties.
For instance many newer superhots presents the same text over and over again:
 
"This variety is closely linked to the 7 Pot/Pod and Trinidad Scorpion landrace varieties. It may or may not be a different variety."
 
even reaper has the same above text ...
 
Older pepper varieties on the other hand are right on the spot and it provides very useful info indeed.
 
Would this thread also be a good place to discuss the lineage of certain chiles? It seems difficult to locate elsewhere. For example, I hear the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T was a cross between a Trinidad Scorpion and a Cumari. Also, the NuMex Jalmundo was a cross between a Keystone Resistant Giant bell pepper and an Early Jalapeno. Others?
 
midwestchilehead said:
Would this thread also be a good place to discuss the lineage of certain chiles? It seems difficult to locate elsewhere. For example, I hear the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T was a cross between a Trinidad Scorpion and a Cumari. Also, the NuMex Jalmundo was a cross between a Keystone Resistant Giant bell pepper and an Early Jalapeno. Others?
I'd also be interested in hearing some of this too.
 
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