(Fwd) [CH] igNobel Prize
Dave Anderson (Chilehead@tough-love.com)
Fri, 8 Oct 1999 22:22:11 -0700
I am sure all chileheads will agree with the choice for biology...
The Ig Nobel Prize honors work that "cannot
or should not be reproduced" (though value
judgements on the merits of the work are
avoided). Winners come from around the
world to receive their prizes, which are
presented by actual Nobel laureates. This
year's winners include, in their respective
categories:
Biology. Paul Bosland, of the New Mexico
State University's Chile Pepper Institute,
for breeding a spiceless jalapeno chile
pepper.
Actually, I think Dr. Naky of Texas A&M University worked on the
TAM Jalapeno which was also an attempt to breed a heatless
Jalap. I remember mention of Pace Foods getting a patent for a
heatless Jalap and this might have been from work by Dr. Bosland.
My understanding is that food producers like Pace were trying to
come up with a pepper that had consistent heat, and as any of us
who grow them know, peppers develop heat based on growing
conditions, stress, and a lot of other factors. Even Mr. Scoville was
working on SU's with this understanding.
Food producers like Pace are trying to make their products
uniform. Hot Salsa should be hot while mild should be mild. If one
can use the same products ie: tomatoes, heatless jalapenos,
onions, cilantro and then add a chemical like pure capsiacin, then
the salsa would taste the same, but have varying amounts of heat.
Nobody is trying to sell heatless Jalapeno seeds to me:-) Yet!!!
Dave Anderson
Tough Love Chile Co.
http://www.Tough-Love.com
Chilehead@Tough-Love.com