Cool News from Secretos Mayas

In complement to our Hot Recipes, you will find on this page our latest Cool News:

• special chilli events
• new products,
• chilli websites,
• facts about chillies and peppers,
• and even health news about chillies!

Special Chilli Events

Nick Bell and his Mexican wife Elizabeth presented their range of Secretos Mayas sauces and salsas at the World Food Market on 21st and 22nd November 2007 in London (ExCel). They were also be joined by the Mexican Director of the Secretos Mayas company.

The event was a great success and Secretos Mayas attracted an unprecedented interest and a record number of enquiries.

The next event has not be arranged yet but please visit this site regularly for updates on this.

2 new natural products coming soon!

Following from the success of their 100% natural chilli sauces, made from organically grown crops, Secretos Mayas are now expanding the range of their natural products to include 2 new products:

• a real “Bakers' Quality” pure and natural Vanilla essence
• an authentic Mayan style Habanero Chilli oil

Please visit us again soon to find out when! Alternatively, you can e-mail Nick Bell to find out more.

Chilli Websites

If you are as passionate as we are about chillies and hot sauces, perhaps you will enjoy visiting some of our favourite websites:

• Ring of Fire is a forum-type of website for all matters related to chillies!
  
  
• Secretos Mayas.com is our parent-company in Mexico and offers a version in English (USA) and another version in Spanish (Mexico)

Peppers: the Facts

History of the Capsicum

Capsicums are native to Central and South America but did travel around the world before being introduced into the North American culture. Explorers brought Capsicums to Europe in the 1500s. The Spanish named it “pimiento” after the black pepper called “pimienta,” which is the unrelated Piper nigrum. As the Capsicum pepper traveled to other European countries, it acquired other names such as the Hungarian “paprika” and the British “Ginnie pepper.” Capsicums quickly became popular in the Orient and Africa and were introduced to North America by colonists. Today, many types of hot peppers are cultivated throughout the world, including jalapeno, cayenne, Tabasco and chilli.

Fiery Chilly Peppers

The hotness of peppers is actually chemically different from their flavour. The source of their fiery sensation is a group of naturally occurring chemicals called “capsaicins”. The effects of the capsaicins have been described as delivering rapid bites to the back of the palate or a slow burn on the tongue and mid palate.

The Heat in Peppers

Different combinations of the individual capsaicins produce varying degrees of heat, resulting in the various pepper strains. Capsaicin content is dependent on many factors, including plant genetics, climate, geographic location and stage of ripeness. Warm weather regions generally produce hotter peppers than cooler areas. Warm nights, in particular, seem to be responsible for the higher capsaicin content.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin production in peppers begins at about one month and then increases with maturity. Peppers generally begin to produce capsaicin at about a month and this increases with maturity. The flavour of peppers is thought to be associated with the pigments that give the fruit its color. Generally, the deeper the color, the stronger the flavour. Most peppers begin their development in some shade of green and then change color to red, orange, yellow or purple as they ripen. Hot peppers are quite versatile as they can be used fresh, dried or frozen. The fruits are a good source of vitamins and generally are even more nutritious than bell peppers. In fact, green hot peppers have more Vitamin C per weight than citrus fruit, and red hot peppers have more Vitamin A than carrots!

Are Habaneros and other Chillis good for you?

Disclaimer

Please note that in presenting the following Health articles, Secretos Mayas (UK Division) are in no way making Health Claims in favour of their chilli peppers and sauces. They only wish to share some interesting findings related to the main ingredient in their sauces. Please be advised that anyone interested to know more on this should query the matter further with their doctor and get advice in the context of their own health.

Chillies can help fight Prostate Cancer!

A recent (2006) British Medical Journal for Cancer Research, reported that capsaicin (a big component in habanero) causes prostate cancer cells to kill themselves by apoptosis. Treatments with capsicin reduced prostate cancer tumours by one-fifth the size of tumours in non-treated mice, said a team from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles. Every year, 10,000 men die and more than 30,000 are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK. "Capsaicin has a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate cancer cells in culture," said Dr Sören Lehmann, team member. He estimated that the dose of pepper extract fed to the mice was equivalent to giving 400 milligrams of capsaicin three times a week to a 200-pound man, roughly equivalent to between three and eight fresh habañera peppers. Britain's Prostate Cancer Charity welcomed the study, but advised men not to eat more hot chillis. Head of Policy and Research, Chris Hiley, said: "Eventually, it may be possible to extract the capsaicin and make it available as a drug treatment. In the meantime we caution men with prostate cancer in the UK against upping their weekly intake of the hottest known chillies. High intake of hot chillies has been linked with stomach cancers in the populations of India and Mexico." © Telegraph Group Limited 2006.

Hot Sauce Enhances Health and Vigour

Health officials in St Johns, Newfoundland (Canada) warn: “Spicy food is a lot like sex; it makes you sweaty, it's good for you, but if you're not careful it can lead to a painful burning later.”

The active chemical that burns your throat can help lower cholesterol, decrease your blood pressure and make breathing easier. A well-respected purveyor of spices says “I have different cooking spices and stuff like that, that aren't hot.” But it's really the spicy ones with special health benefits. Capsaicin, the compound in hot peppers that produces the heat, can boost metabolism, which helps burn fat faster. The spice raises your heart rate, so that circulation improves. It also helps with pain relief, especially headaches - even excruciating migraine and cluster headaches. It's also being researched for uses in cancer treatment."

People often fret about the effect so much spicy food will have on their stomach, possibly causing ulcers and heartburn. Capsaicin is good for digestion and ulcer-prevention. Most stomach ulcers are caused by H. Pylori, bacteria that the hot compound kills.

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