[Sca-cooks] Spanish Pepper?

[Terry Decker]

Fuchs described capsicums in his herbal of 1541.  There are a couple of 
copies online.  Mattioli produced his herbal in 1544, so it is possible that 
they were described then.  The earliest European reference I have found for 
capsicums is the Diario of Christopher Columbus.

I am curious as to why the ancient Romans would refer to Spanish pepper, as 
the concept of Spain is over half a millenium after Rome departed the scene. 
Any ideas?

I would also point out that Schinus molle (aka peppertree) in the cashew 
family and indigenous to South America is also referred to as Spanish 
pepper.  Although that usage is certainly less ancient than the
claimed Roman connection.

Bear

> That is certainly a capsicum, but this text is dated 1590, which is
> certainly a long time after ancient Rome (which was the claimed
> documentation for Spanish pepper being capsicums).
>
> Very nice source, by the way.  I'm going to spend a *lot* of time
> digging through it.
>
> - Doc