It’s Part II of the nightshade party!Sean and Erin plunge back in with tomatoes and peppers, covering cultural history, culinary and medical uses, and fun facts about these garden staples of the nightshade family. If you could look back thousands of years to see gardens in the Andes mountains, you would find both of them growing there. Find out how peppers once acted both as a trade good and a discipline tool, where tomatoes have spread most around the world, and the truth about the fantastical-sounding tomato-potato. If you want to know more about growing tomatoes and peppers or to explore their botany and etymology, be sure to check out Part I of this plant face-off. Who brought the most fascinating facts about their plant this week? Vote for borage or cosmos by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff. Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcastWebsite: www.plantsalwayswin.com CreditsWebsite Design and Illustration by Sophia AlladinIntro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-playsLicense code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PHCitationsThe biggest global tomato-growing nations todaySolanum lycopersicum (Tomato, Tomatoes). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-lycopersicum/#:~:text=The%20genus%20name%2C%20Solanum%2C%20is,when%20they%20came%20to%20EuropeTomato varieties, history, and misconceptions of toxicityThe University of Vermont. (n.d.). A History of Tomatoes. University of Vermont Extension. https://www.uvm.edu/extension/news/history-tomatoes#:~:text=Tomatoes%20have%20undergone%20centuries%20of,Andes%20of%20 western%20South%20africa Heirloom vegetablesHeirloom vegetables. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/heirloom-vegetables/ Carnivorous tomatoes!Chase, M. W., Christenhusz, M. J. M., Sanders, D., & Fay, M. F. (2009). Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(4), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01014.x Toxicity of capsaicinRohrig, B. (2013). Hot peppers: Muy caliente! In Chemmatters. American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/chemmatters The debate about weaponizing capsaicinPeppers as non-lethal weapons. (2022). In The Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks (pp. 145–155). https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839160646-00145Chili peppers in cultural historyKelly, V. a. P. B. C. P. (2021, March 5). The Trail of Fire: The Story of the Chili Pepper. Synaptic Space. https://synapticspace.wordpress.com/2019/05/02/the-long-journey-of-the-chili-pepper/The capsaicin isn’t in the pepper seedsCronin, J. R. (2002). The chili pepper’s pungent principle: capsaicin delivers diverse health benefits. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 8(2), 110–113. https://doi.org/10.1089/10762800252909865 Timestamps00:11 Introduction01:28 Culinary and Medicinal Uses of Peppers04:30 Pepper Spray Throughout History05:55 Is Capsaicin Toxic? 07:00 Why Capsaicin Burns09:44 Health Benefits of Capsaicin12:24 Nutritional Benefits of Tomatoes16:15 A Brief History of Tomatoes20:41 A Brief History of Peppers27:00 Tomato Fun Facts 30:00 Heirloom Varieties38:43 The Tomato Potato40:36 Tomatoes are Carnivorous?43:22 Pepper Seeds are not Where the Heat Is!44:45 The Scoville Scale to Measure the Heat of Peppers37:37 Outro and Contact Us
