Chasing Chiles looks at both the future of place-based foods and the effects of climate change on agriculture through the lens of the chile pepper-from the farmers who cultivate this iconic crop to the cuisines and cultural traditions in which peppers play a huge role.Why chile peppers? Both a spice and a vegetable, chile peppers have captivated imaginations and taste buds for thousands of years. Native to Mesoamerica and the New World, chiles are currently grown on every continent, since their relatively recent introduction to Europe (in the early 1500s via Christopher Columbus). Chiles are delicious, dynamic, and very diverse-they have been rapidly adopted, adapted, and assimilated into numerous world cuisines, and while malleable to a degree, certain heirloom varieties are deeply tied to place and culture-but now accelerating climate change may be scrambling their terroir.Over a year-long journey, three pepper-loving gastronauts-an agroecologist, a chef, and an ethnobotanist-set out to find the real stories of America's rarest heirloom chile varieties, and learn about the changing climate from farmers and other people who live by the pepper, and who, lately, have been adapting to shifting growing conditions and weather patterns. They put a face on an issue that has been made far too abstract for our own good.Chasing Chiles is not your archetypal book about climate change, with facts and computer models delivered by a distant narrator. On the contrary, these three dedicated chileheads look and listen, sit down to eat, and get stories and recipes from on the ground-in farmers' fields, local cafes, and the desert-scrub hillsides across North America. From the Sonoran Desert to Santa Fe and St. Augustine (the two oldest cities in the U.S.), from the marshes of Avery Island in Cajun Louisiana to the thin limestone soils of the Yucatan, this book looks at how and why climate change will continue to affect our palates and our producers, and how it already has.
Chasing Chiles: Chasing Chiles
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Kirkus Reviews-Three self-described "gastronauts" plumb climate change through the piquant prism of chile peppers.The journey is the destination as the earnest trio launch their "spice ship" throughout the United States and Mexico to learn how shifting weather patterns have been affecting the noble pepper's destiny-and the fate of those who rely on the crop. The authors-a chef, an agroecologist and an ethnobotanist-rely on listening (and, of course, eating) during their one-year odyssey, harvesting anecdotes to better understand the global dilemma. "We had a hunch that climate change wasn't just out there-in the polar ice caps and in receding glaciers-but in here, in our food system," they write. On their travels, the authors meet men like Fernando Nino Estudillo, a spice trader in Sonora who describes his recent quandary: "I've been ten years in the business; most years I drive truckloads of chiltepines to Tijuana myself. Only this last year has the wild chile crop ever failed me...I didn't even make a single trip to the border." But it's not all serious-the trio relishes chiles, after all. In Florida, as they prepare to dig into a jar of datil peppers in white vinegar, they write, "We smiled at one another like old junkies who have just discovered that someone left a couple of joints in their midst."The occasionally florid writing notwithstanding, the book provides well-crafted regional recipes and edifying passages about the surveyed chiles.
"Chasing Chiles makes you feel like you are riding shotgun on Gary, Kraig and Kurt's Spice Ship! This book is a agri-culinary-eco-botanical odyssey that brings some of the most important issues about food, eating, and the impact of climate change to the fore in a way that is both engaging and compelling. A truly pleasurable read for anyone who appreciates authentic flavors and the pleasures of the table--and of course, the wisdom of our farmers. Practical principles we can all "swallow" is the guiding light here."--Tracey Ryder, CEO, Edible Communities
"Chasing Chiles is truly one of the most inspiring and unique treatments of climate change in current literature. The book provides us with an entirely fresh and critical perspective on this contentious issue directly from farmers and chefs, focusing on one particular crop. And the proposed solution to this complex problem is both plain and prudent: "Eat and farm as if the earth matters, as we should have been doing all along."--Frederick Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.
"This book will fascinate not only chile aficionados, but also those students of biodiversity who are alarmed at the disastrous effect that climate change is wreaking on our food crops in general. With this book in hand, I happily climbed aboard the authors' Spice Ship to embark on their personal odyssey, and saw up close the devastating effects of climate change on the environment, farmers, and their crops whose very existence is at stake."--Diana Kennedy, author of The Essential Cuisines of Mexico and The Art of Mexican Cooking
"An instant classic of chile pepper lore, Chasing Chiles is the best social history of chiles since Amal Naj's Peppers from 1992. In fact, I think it's better-because it's not just journalism; it has fascinating science and entertaining humor as well. Highly recommended!"--Dave DeWitt, "The Pope of Peppers" and coauthor of The Complete Chile Pepper Book
"The noble chile--and its equally noble growers--illustrate the key principle we need for a world stressed by an ever-more-fickle climate: resilience. This book will make you understand the situation far better than most dry tomes on the subject."--Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth, Founder of 350.org
"Chasing Chiles is nothing short of a brilliant ethno-bio-culinary convergence. It accomplishes what so very few books do; marrying place to flavor and science, the result is a visceral understanding of the profound impact climate change has on the global community and the foods that we always seem to take for granted. Kurt Friese, Kraig Kraft, and Gary Nabhan have produced a must-read classic for all time."--Elissa Altman, founder of PoorMansFeast.com
"How can our hemisphere's "spice of life" be ignored after reading Chasing Chiles? I mean, what will there be to live for?"--Wes Jackson, President, The Land Institute
"All food has a story behind it--a story about people, culture, land, ecology, and economy. Chasing Chiles looks at the stories behind 6 chile pepper varieties, and the land, culture, food traditions, and farmers that, together, make their existence possible, and the changing climate that threatens all. But this isn't just about vulnerability; it is a book about the hope and resilience we create when we eat food with a story that makes us proud."--Josh Viertel, President, Slow Food USA
"A treasure trove of chile lore and a wake-up call to everyone who cares about real food, Chasing Chiles will amuse and alarm you. These three gastronauts carry a wealth of culinary and botanical knowledge, and their journeys in their Spice Ship uncover an incredibly diverse world of chiles that is changing with breathtaking speed. Stop worrying about the impact of climate change on future harvests; cross your fingers for this year's instead."--Rowan Jacobsen, author of American Terroir and Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis
"Chasing Chiles makes you feel like you are riding shotgun on Gary, Kraig and Kurt's Spice Ship! This book is a agri-culinary-eco-botanical odyssey that brings some of the most important issues about food, eating, and the impact of climate change to the fore in a way that is both engaging and compelling. A truly pleasurable read for anyone who appreciates authentic flavors and the pleasures of the table--and of course, the wisdom of our farmers. Practical principles we can all "swallow" is the guiding light here."--Tracey Ryder, CEO, Edible Communities
"Chasing Chiles is truly one of the most inspiring and unique treatments of climate change in current literature. The book provides us with an entirely fresh and critical perspective on this contentious issue directly from farmers and chefs, focusing on one particular crop. And the proposed solution to this complex problem is both plain and prudent: "Eat and farm as if the earth matters, as we should have been doing all along."--Frederick Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.
"This book will fascinate not only chile aficionados, but also those students of biodiversity who are alarmed at the disastrous effect that climate change is wreaking on our food crops in general. With this book in hand, I happily climbed aboard the authors' Spice Ship to embark on their personal odyssey, and saw up close the devastating effects of climate change on the environment, farmers, and their crops whose very existence is at stake."--Diana Kennedy, author of The Essential Cuisines of Mexico and The Art of Mexican Cooking
"An instant classic of chile pepper lore, Chasing Chiles is the best social history of chiles since Amal Naj's Peppers from 1992. In fact, I think it's better-because it's not just journalism; it has fascinating science and entertaining humor as well. Highly recommended!"--Dave DeWitt, "The Pope of Peppers" and coauthor of The Complete Chile Pepper Book
"The noble chile--and its equally noble growers--illustrate the key principle we need for a world stressed by an ever-more-fickle climate: resilience. This book will make you understand the situation far better than most dry tomes on the subject."--Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth, Founder of 350.org
"Chasing Chiles is nothing short of a brilliant ethno-bio-culinary convergence. It accomplishes what so very few books do; marrying place to flavor and science, the result is a visceral understanding of the profound impact climate change has on the global community and the foods that we always seem to take for granted. Kurt Friese, Kraig Kraft, and Gary Nabhan have produced a must-read classic for all time."--Elissa Altman, founder of PoorMansFeast.com
"How can our hemisphere's "spice of life" be ignored after reading Chasing Chiles? I mean, what will there be to live for?"--Wes Jackson, President, The Land Institute
"All food has a story behind it--a story about people, culture, land, ecology, and economy. Chasing Chiles looks at the stories behind 6 chile pepper varieties, and the land, culture, food traditions, and farmers that, together, make their existence possible, and the changing climate that threatens all. But this isn't just about vulnerability; it is a book about the hope and resilience we create when we eat food with a story that makes us proud."--Josh Viertel, President, Slow Food USA
"A treasure trove of chile lore and a wake-up call to everyone who cares about real food, Chasing Chiles will amuse and alarm you. These three gastronauts carry a wealth of culinary and botanical knowledge, and their journeys in their Spice Ship uncover an incredibly diverse world of chiles that is changing with breathtaking speed. Stop worrying about the impact of climate change on future harvests; cross your fingers for this year's instead."--Rowan Jacobsen, author of American Terroir and Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis
About the Author
Chef Kurt Michael Friese is author of A Cook's Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland (Ice Cube, 2008), and owner and founding chef of Devotay, a restaurant in Iowa City that is a community leader in local and sustainable cuisine. He is owner and publisher of Edible Iowa River Valley magazine, a board of directors member for Slow Food USA, and a graduate and former chef-instructor at the New England Culinary Institute.
Kraig Kraft is an agroecologist and writer based in Managua, Nicaragua. He completed his PhD on the origins and diversity of wild and domesticated chile peppers at the University of California, Davis. Kraft is the author of a popular blog titled Chasing Chiles, and has written for several regional magazines, including Edible Sacramento, as well as technical journals, and is currently working on a coffee sustainability project in Central America.
Gary Paul Nabhan is an award-winning author, plant conservationist, and sustainable-agriculture advocate. His collaborative work in agricultural conservation has been honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Quivira Coalition and the Society for Conservation Biology, and with the Vavilov Medal. A pioneer in the heirloom seed movement, he raises rare chile peppers and Mission-era orchard crops in Patagonia, Arizona.
Kraig Kraft is an agroecologist and writer based in Managua, Nicaragua. He completed his PhD on the origins and diversity of wild and domesticated chile peppers at the University of California, Davis. Kraft is the author of a popular blog titled Chasing Chiles, and has written for several regional magazines, including Edible Sacramento, as well as technical journals, and is currently working on a coffee sustainability project in Central America.
Gary Paul Nabhan is an award-winning author, plant conservationist, and sustainable-agriculture advocate. His collaborative work in agricultural conservation has been honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Quivira Coalition and the Society for Conservation Biology, and with the Vavilov Medal. A pioneer in the heirloom seed movement, he raises rare chile peppers and Mission-era orchard crops in Patagonia, Arizona.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I expected a cookbook with background; it's more like a history, background, and biology of chilies with a few incidental (and authentic) recipes. There is a lot of 'climate change' talk and it may veer into areas that not all agree with regarding our changing climate and the cause (or not) of such changes. There is a lot of personal contact with growers of chilies, in all it's reward and devastation of their lands. It puts a human face to the food we eat.
If you like the kind of book that is recipe-heavy with minimal history or background about dishes, this is not your book. If you are more interested in the how/why of your food, where it comes from, and the personal travails of those who grow it, you'll enjoy this one. There are a few select recipes included that call for the various types of peppers that are detailed in the book; you may or may not be able to find these easily but the recipes are well written and balanced in their ingredients and would tend to appeal to a wide range of people. It's not just a book that people who only enjoy hot spicy chilies would enjoy, the book details so many varieties that have wide appeal.
If you like the kind of book that is recipe-heavy with minimal history or background about dishes, this is not your book. If you are more interested in the how/why of your food, where it comes from, and the personal travails of those who grow it, you'll enjoy this one. There are a few select recipes included that call for the various types of peppers that are detailed in the book; you may or may not be able to find these easily but the recipes are well written and balanced in their ingredients and would tend to appeal to a wide range of people. It's not just a book that people who only enjoy hot spicy chilies would enjoy, the book details so many varieties that have wide appeal.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book Chasing Chiles, Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail is not merely a tome dedicated to exploring climate change and it's impacts on agriculture, though it does this well, it is a celebration of life. By focusing in on the stories of one food, chile peppers, the three authors were able to dig deeply into the complex ways in which all food touches our lives, providing readers (well this reader at least) with enough sustenance to care deeply about the fate of chiles specifically and food, land, and culture, in general through learning about the fragility and import of biodiversity in our food system. I find myself left with not just a taste for more chile peppers, but with a sense of concern, and conversely, a hope for their future.
Written by three active figures in the good food movement--chef and Slow Food USA board member Kurt Michael Friese; author, conservationist, ethnobotanist, father of Renewing America's Food Traditions Alliance, and local food hero Gary Paul Nabhan, and my friend and fellow Slow Food Biodiversity committee member the agroecologist Kraig Kraft--this work brings together the insights of their varied expertise to explore the vast ramifications of climate change on food.
The three gastronauts take us from Sonora and its Chiltepines, to Florida and its Datils, to the Yucatan and its Habaneros, to the Gulf Coast and its Tabascos, to New Mexico and its diverse Native Chiles, to Maryland and the history of Fish peppers, and to Wisconsin and Southern Illinois and Beaver Dams, telling the stories of peppers and the amazing people dedicated to keeping them available. They weave in language, history, music, art, politics, tragedies, and recipes along the way.
Threats to biodiversity are in the multitude. Loss of small farms, farmers, and farmland, environmental degradation, industrialization of agriculture and our food system, and the decreasing understanding humans have of how land, food, culture, and health are tied together have been major players in loss of biodiversity for decades, but climate change may be throwing a whole host of new threats into play. In Chasing Chiles we learn about how temperature changes, floods, drought, storm damage, pestilence from shifting weather patterns seem to be increasing perils. While each locale will respond differently to climate change, Friese, Nahban, and Kraft remind us that to create resilience in our food system (i.e. to ensure food remains available to make it onto our plates) we must increase biodiversity among all food crops to provide a buffer. As all locales will respond differently to shifting weather patterns, so too will each varietal respond differently to these shifts.
I would be remiss in not mentioning certain personal and professional affinities for this subject matter. For I found it deeply gratifying to experience the synchronicity of burning my tongue on a soup flavored with Chiltepines found on a recent trip to Tucson and visit to Native Seeds as I sat down to begin reading and then to finish the book as I awaited the appearance of dozens of Beaver Dam pepper seedling I started to grow out here in the state they've been home to for nearly a hundred years. And as a dietitian, I must note the clear connection between biodiversity and health: as we've moved away from diverse diets towards increasingly refined, industrialized, mono-crop diets our health has suffered. By restoring biodiversity to our gardens, fields, and wild places we can restore our health. This book ends hopefully with some meaningful principles to eat and grow food to counter climate change.
Chasing Chiles is one hot, wild ride. And one worth taking.
[...]
Written by three active figures in the good food movement--chef and Slow Food USA board member Kurt Michael Friese; author, conservationist, ethnobotanist, father of Renewing America's Food Traditions Alliance, and local food hero Gary Paul Nabhan, and my friend and fellow Slow Food Biodiversity committee member the agroecologist Kraig Kraft--this work brings together the insights of their varied expertise to explore the vast ramifications of climate change on food.
The three gastronauts take us from Sonora and its Chiltepines, to Florida and its Datils, to the Yucatan and its Habaneros, to the Gulf Coast and its Tabascos, to New Mexico and its diverse Native Chiles, to Maryland and the history of Fish peppers, and to Wisconsin and Southern Illinois and Beaver Dams, telling the stories of peppers and the amazing people dedicated to keeping them available. They weave in language, history, music, art, politics, tragedies, and recipes along the way.
Threats to biodiversity are in the multitude. Loss of small farms, farmers, and farmland, environmental degradation, industrialization of agriculture and our food system, and the decreasing understanding humans have of how land, food, culture, and health are tied together have been major players in loss of biodiversity for decades, but climate change may be throwing a whole host of new threats into play. In Chasing Chiles we learn about how temperature changes, floods, drought, storm damage, pestilence from shifting weather patterns seem to be increasing perils. While each locale will respond differently to climate change, Friese, Nahban, and Kraft remind us that to create resilience in our food system (i.e. to ensure food remains available to make it onto our plates) we must increase biodiversity among all food crops to provide a buffer. As all locales will respond differently to shifting weather patterns, so too will each varietal respond differently to these shifts.
I would be remiss in not mentioning certain personal and professional affinities for this subject matter. For I found it deeply gratifying to experience the synchronicity of burning my tongue on a soup flavored with Chiltepines found on a recent trip to Tucson and visit to Native Seeds as I sat down to begin reading and then to finish the book as I awaited the appearance of dozens of Beaver Dam pepper seedling I started to grow out here in the state they've been home to for nearly a hundred years. And as a dietitian, I must note the clear connection between biodiversity and health: as we've moved away from diverse diets towards increasingly refined, industrialized, mono-crop diets our health has suffered. By restoring biodiversity to our gardens, fields, and wild places we can restore our health. This book ends hopefully with some meaningful principles to eat and grow food to counter climate change.
Chasing Chiles is one hot, wild ride. And one worth taking.
[...]
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Chasing Chiles was not what I had, at first, expected. I was expecting a cookbook full of recipes with some historical and climate information mixed in. Instead what I found was an account of three men - an ethnobotanist, a chef, and an agroecologist - as they travel the world in search of heirloom chilies and discuss how climate change, as well as other factors, has impacted chilies and the importance of diversity as our climate continues to undergo changes. Sprinkled throughout this account were a select few, authentic recipes using different chilies.
This book is not a fast read, as it is providing a lot of information, but it is well written. I would especially recommend it for fans of history, the environmental sciences and those who enjoy cooking shows as it is a mix of all three areas. Just remember: this is not a cookbook - while the recipes are good, they are still few and far between so I would not recommend it for purely that purpose.
This book is not a fast read, as it is providing a lot of information, but it is well written. I would especially recommend it for fans of history, the environmental sciences and those who enjoy cooking shows as it is a mix of all three areas. Just remember: this is not a cookbook - while the recipes are good, they are still few and far between so I would not recommend it for purely that purpose.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better in theory than execution
Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail tells the story of how hot peppers came to be cultivated and how climate change is impacting their production. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Chicago Book Addict
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre
I was disappointed at the obvious bias towards global warming. The way the book was written authors had already made up their minds on the issue before they even went on the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by farmerben
4.0 out of 5 stars
Can't cook, but love this book..
If you are expecting a cookbook, then you will be disappointed. Chasing Chiles reminds me of a lot of shows that fascinate me on Public TV and The Food Network in that it examines... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Daniel B. Slocum
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and highly recommended
First comment: this book was a wonderful--and sobering--look at climate change, as demonstrated by the effect on growing/harvesting chile peppers in the southern US and northern... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Northern Trails
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chasing climate change through chasing chiles
Really interesting concept for a book! You could almost argue that it's a little TOO specific of a concept, making it appeal only to "foodies" who are also partly interested in... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Z. Freeman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Reading For Hot Pepper Fans - Recommended
"Chasing Chiles" is an odd mix of history, culinary guide to chiles peppers, and cautionary tale. I love all things related to hot peppers and this book presents them in a... Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. F. Hill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks for sharing your stories, pepper growers.
I enjoyed reading this book mainly just to hear the lamentations from other gardeners in North America. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Crease in the Page
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Chile Climate
Nearly 15 years ago, The New Yorker published a lengthy article on chile peppers. Now comes a book that covers even more spicy territory. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Scott T. Rivers
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very Disappointing
In Chasing Chilies, a chef, an agroecologist and an ethnobotanist take a year long trip to search out the rarest and best peppers. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Gypsi Phillips Bates
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hungry for something spicy now!
Chasing Chiles is a rather short read written by three guys that got to road trip around to a bunch of different chili growing regions...I guess paid for by writing this book. Read more
Published 22 months ago by L. Knights
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