Learn from the best. “Peppers of the Americas: The Remarkable Capsicums That Forever Changed Flavor” is written by Maricel E. Presilla, a three-time James Beard Award-winning author and chef-restaurateur who is an expert on Latin American cooking. A world-traveler, food historian, and botanical explorer, the author explains the origins of chile peppers and how they migrated the globe to become an essential food in the cuisines of many cultures. This encyclopedic volume is a masterful study of all things peppers, and it is beautifully photographed and illustrated. Ms. Presilla, who grows more than 200 varieties of peppers at her New Jersey home-base, provides tips on pepper growing, handling, drying, smoking, storing, fermenting, and pickling—also on making chile salts, dried powders, and pastes. The recipes are what you would expect from an accomplished chef, and they include such dishes as: “Tropical Shrimp Ceviche with Yuca”; “Pepper Steaks with Pepper Leaf Chimichurri”; “Big Tamale Pie Filled With Chicken in Chile Ancho Adobo”; “Chipotle-Vanilla sauce over Stuffed Piquillo Peppers”; “Red Snapper in a Spicy Creole Sauce”; “Panfried Pork Steaks in Guajillo-Puya Adobo”; “Oaxacan Tomatillo and Dried Chile de Arbol Salsa over marinated, glazed slow-roasted slab bacon in a hot hibiscus and chocolate adobo”; “Guatemalan-Inspired Melon and Pineapple Salad sprinkled with dried chile cobanero and cacao nibs”; and “Spicy Pickled Cucumbers”. Definitely written by a well-versed aficionado, with great love of subject, “Peppers of the America” will add heat, color, flavor and a treasure trove of information about a fiery food that will warm your cooking spirit and have you finding your own new ways to pepper up your culinary repertoire.

Book Copy Gratis Lorena Jones Books via Blogging for Books ( )

This massively in-depth, exhaustive encyclopedia of everything capsicum is a very interesting reference on the history of people and peppers, with in-depth information on history, biology, trade, cultivation, selection and preparation of pepper.

Starting with the earliest evidence of human ingestion of peppers, bulldozing through the tumultuous history of the Americas, and ending up at present day availability and usage, this book does not miss anything.

Towards the end of the book, there are some interesting recipes for rubs, pastes, and sauces, as well as some main and side dishes that showcase peppers.

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I recently mistook a habanero for one of those mini-bell peppers and popped it in my mouth. It brought me to my knees. Obviously, I need to know more about peppers for my own safety. So, I was thrilled to see Ten Speed Press has a new book to save me and those like me from future disasters. Peppers of the Americas is a huge and beautiful book about those mighty flavor bombs that fall under the rubric of “peppers.” Maricel Presilla has been dubbed the Queen of Capsicum and it seems to be a well-deserved title.

The book is a deep dive into the peppers of the Americas. The introduction is full of the biology of the peppers, including a beautiful illustration of a pepper labeling all the pieces. There are lovely illustrations in the more scientific part of the book, showing how we can tell peppers apart by the calyx (where the stem attaches), the flower, and the seeds. There is a fascinating section on the archeological history of peppers, then its history of expansion and exploration carried around the world. Presilla talks about the five domesticated peppers and their essential traits and varieties. She grows her own and even explains how to grow peppers from seed.

There are two huge galleries of peppers, regular and dried. Who knew there could be so many peppers and we have not even left the Americas. There is also an extensive collection of recipes, most of them from Latin America for everything from spice blends and vinegars to stews, casseroles, and so much more. The end of the book is full of resources where you can buy seeds, seedlings, and peppers to get started.

The pictures by Romulo Yanes and the botanical illustrations by Julio J. Figueroa are beautiful. The book is one you will enjoy paging through looking at pictures and reading about the peppers. The information for each individual pepper describes their flavor and uses and then describes what they look like.

Peppers of the Americas is a rich reference book for people who like to know more than how to use the foods they eat. There’s a bit of science, a bit of history, information on preserving and making condiments, as well as identification and cooking information. It does not tell us everything, though. When I decided to write about my habanero mishap, I wondered if it needed a tilde or not, and looked for an answer in the book. Alas, no joy. I discovered from Google that habanero is named for Havana, so there is no tilde, and my desire to add one is a hyperforeignism.

I like the bits of folklore and tradition, like the “birds-eye”, a bit of smashed pepper at the bottom of a bowl before serving soup to flavor all the soup. There are also several recipes for flavored vinegars, pastes, and salts you can make for flavorings. Many of the recipes are complex, though thankfully there are a few relatively easy ones as well.There are several delicious sounding recipes. They are discouraging for the home cook, though, because they are over-particularized. What I mean is that a recipe will call for a Kirby cucumber instead of a cucumber, “Columbian panela, Mexican piloncillo, or light muscovado sugar” instead of sugar. When I read the recipe, I know I can make it with my ordinary ingredients, but it comes across as though it’s been posted with “Keep Out Home Cooks!” signs all over the place.

To be honest, even at New Seasons, there is no wide selection of peppers, so the specificity is discouraging. How much worse will the recipe be with a pepper in the family, not that specific pepper? What about the sugars? Can I use a regular cucumber? These kinds of recipes create doubt and difference. I read them and feel as though the book was not written for me.

I received a copy of Peppers of the Americas through Blogging for Books. It is published by Lorena Jones Books by Ten Speed Press.

Peppers of the Americas at Penguin Random House
Maricel E. Presilla on Twitter
La Cucharamama – Presilla’s restaurants.

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