Burning Up the Herb of the Year - Hot Peppers!

Hot peppers are all the rage. You can't watch a cooking show without seeing them “kick up the heat” with some type of fiery fruit. Jalapenos and Cayenne are the most popular additions. You can find this spicy fruit in everything from stews to sauces, rubs to rices, even in chocolate and ice cream.

Here's the kicker... I can't stand eating them. Actually find them painful – and not in the good way. Very, very, VERY mild heat I can tolerate. We're talking lots of black pepper hot. No super zippy foods for me. But I can appreciate the benefits they provide, for your insides and especially for your outsides.

Capsicum, or hot peppers, are the 2016 Herb of the Year. The International HerbSociety, which chooses the annual celebratory herb, “evaluates possible choices based on their being outstanding in at least two of the three major categories: medicinal, culinary, or decorative.” Peppers fit that definition perfectly in all three categories.

Internally, cayenne and it's cousins pack in the vitamins like C, A, B, K1 and E. They provide a painful heat that produces endorphin's which, despite the initial pain from the heat, actually help relieve pain. The hotter the pepper the more endorphin's produced. Be careful before you go on that endorphin bender though. You can actually get burned from peppers like Scotch Bonnets or Trinidad Scorpions. In fact, one drop of pure capsaicin comes in at over 15 million Scoville units. Even diluting that 1 drop in 100,000 drops of water, your skin would blister.

My favorite use for hot peppers, having the issues I have, is to use it externally. The Capsacin in capsicum's provides that heat both inside and out. Capsacin does cause an initial hot feeling on the skin. It binds with pain receptors in the nerve endings and causes an intense burning sensation, which overloads the body’s pain sensors. The nerves stop sending pain messages for brief time, giving temporary relief to aches and soreness.

This is the natural magic that comes in to play with our Muscle Rub. We steep hot peppers (cayenne's and scotch bonnets) in a blend of oils and other herbs. Peppers add that nice little warmth. It's also used in a variety of liniments – if you need to “kick up the heat.”

Hot peppers do have an interesting history. Did you know that sweet peppers – which I do adore – are not naturally occurring? They are bred to be heatless. In fact, if you are growing peppers make sure to keep the hot ones far from the sweet ones. They can cross breed, which can be very surprising if you don't know that.

These are just a few of the reasons Capsicum annuum truly does deserve the status of Herb of the Year! There are so many more. Let us know why you love your hot peppers.