The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking [Hardcover]

Dave DeWitt (Author), Paul W. Bosland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2009

Chile peppers are hot -- in every sense of the word. They add culinary fire to thousands of dishes from a variety of cuisines and inspire near-fanatical devotion in those who have succumbed to their incendiary charms.

In this comprehensive book, world chile experts Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland have assembled all the information that anyone with an interest in chile peppers could ever hope to find. Detailed profiles of the 100 most popular chile varieties include information on how to grow chiles; how to diagnose and remedy problems, pests, and diseases; and post-harvest processing and preservation. The book culminates in 85 mouth-watering recipes that make brilliant use of both the characteristic heat of chile peppers and of their more subtle flavor qualities.

Want to know what the hottest chile pepper in the world is? You'll find it in the fascinating story of 'Bhut Jolokia', acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the fieriest chile on earth. Confused about the identity of those chile peppers you bought? The authors' clear photographs and precise descriptions will clear up the mystery.

The Complete Chile Pepper Book is the only guide to chiles you'll ever need. It's a scorcher.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book will be the standard reference on chile peppers for a long time to come. I give it my three-chile rating, which translates as hot-hot-hot." (Sunset's "Fresh Dirt" blog )

"This is the most comprehensive chile pepper book I've seen."
(LibraryThing )

"If one must only have one book on chiles, this should be it."
(Austin Chronicle )

“A narrow topic, you say? Not with the 100 top varieties covered and 85 convincing reasons for embracing more than just our beloved jalapenos and serranos.”
(Chicago Tribune )

"This is a nicely done work that will fit well within any culinary or gardening collection and will appeal to both the novice and the expert gardener. Recommended."

(Library Journal )

About the Author

A foremost international expert on capsicums, Dave DeWitt has written or coauthored more than 30 books on peppers and has edited two magazines on the subject. His Chile Pepper Encyclopedia won Best Spice Book in English in 1999 at the Versailles World Cookbook Awards. He has been a radio announcer and television producer as well as appearing on many national television programs. Dave is a board member of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, chair of the board of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, and an adjunct associate professor at New Mexico State University. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Virginia and a Master's degree in English from the University of Richmond. Sunbelt Shows, Inc., which Dave owns with his wife, Mary Jane Wilan, is a media company that specializes in fiery foods and barbecue. Sunbelt Shows has produced the annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show since 1988.

Paul W. Bosland made the Guinness World Records of 2006 for discovering the world's hottest chile pepper, 'Bhut Jolokia'. A regents professor of horticulture at New Mexico State University, he has released more than 30 cultivated varieties, including a no-heat jalapeño pepper, for which he won the infamous IgNobel from Harvard University, and a habanero chile, 'NuMex Suave', which retains the unique habanero flavors without the heat. He has written or coauthored more than 100 scientific papers and is coauthor of six books. Known as the Chileman, Paul leads the chile breeding and genetic research program at NMSU where he cofounded and directs the university's Chile Pepper Institute, a research and educational center. He serves as chairman of the annual New Mexico Chile Conference, the world's largest conference dedicated to the chile pepper. His chile pepper gardening column appears in Chile Pepper magazine. He earned his bachelor's degree in genetics and his Master's degree in vegetable crops from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in plant breeding and plant genetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Horticultural Science, among other honors.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (September 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881929204
• ISBN-13: 978-0881929201
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave DeWitt Biography

Overview:

Dave DeWitt is a food historian and one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods. He has more than forty-five published books to his credit. Dave is also the producer of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, the trade/consumer show for the multi-billion dollar Fiery Foods and Barbecue industries, now in its twenty-fifth year.

Education:

--B.A. University of Virginia, 1966
--M.A. University of Richmond, 1967

Professional Affiliations:

--President and CEO, Sunbelt Shows, Inc.
--Founding Board Member, The Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University
--Chair, Governing Board of Regents, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces
--Associate Professor, Adjunct Faculty, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

Current Responsibilities:

--Producer, National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, now in its 25th year
--Producer, Scovie Awards Competition, a contest for hot & spicy and BBQ products
--Publisher and editor, the Fiery Foods & BBQ SuperSite at www.fiery-foods.com
--Publisher, Burn! Blog

Museum Projects:

Curator, "Edward S. Curtis in New Mexico," Albuquerque Museum, 1984

Media Appearances:

Dave has appeared on a number of national TV shows, including "American Journal," CNN, "The Today Show," "Home with Gary Collins," "Scientific American Frontiers," "Smart Solutions," "CBS Sunday Morning," "Mythbusters," "Extreme Conventions" (Travel Channel), the Martha Stewart Show and many appearances on The Food Network. He has also been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, American Way, Smithsonian, and in more than two hundred newspapers across the country. A summary DVD of the appearances is available.

Awards:

1999. Winner, Best Spice Book in English, World Cookbook Awards at Versailles, for The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia.
2000. Finalist, James Beard Awards, for A World of Curries.
2006. Finalist, IACP Cookbook Awards, for The Spicy Food Lover's Bible.
2008. Winner, Best Cookbook, New Mexico Book Awards, for Cuisines of the Southwest.
2008. Winner, Best Adventure Novel, New Mexico Book Awards, for Avenging Victorio.
2010. Winner, Best New Mexico Book, New Mexico Book Awards, for The Complete Chile Book.
2011. Winner, Best Cooking Book, New Mexico Book Awards, for The Southwest Table (tie).
2011. Winner, Best Cooking Book, New Mexico Book Awards, for 1001 Best Hot & Spicy Recipes (tie).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars the INcomplete chile pepper book February 4, 2010

By robert davis

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

this is a good book for those who are not already familiar with chiles (for which "peppers" is a misnomer), have limited gardening experience and/or reference materials, and who want a few recipes wrapped up into a sort of "one stop shopping" text.

it is also a great book for those who wish primarily to concentrate on chile gardening, and who have exhausted more rudimentary texts.

the book offers a modest history of chiles. the cultivation information is pretty extensive and fascinating, and may prove to enhance my gardening experience this season. the canning and preservation sections are very informative, and if you like a sampling of specialty recipes in something other than a cookbook (which i really do not), there are some good looking ones here.

the section actually cataloging individual varieties of chiles left me flat. here dewitt and bosland have listed the "top hundred (or so) chile peppers for the garden", including a brief description of each. the descriptions are often VERY brief, and uninformative. there is no consistency in what can be expected from them, such as quantified heat levels (expressed in "scoville heat units"), flavor characteristics, sizes, expected yields, and typical days to maturity.

the greatest issue i have with this section of the book is the inclusion of only these varieties, leaving out a number of interesting and flavorful chiles, among them hungarians (indeed the only mention of paprika, was in the similarly incomplete "heat scale for chile varieties and commercial products"), and the "fish pepper" (a chesapeake bay favorite). notably, the "peter pepper" IS included, with two sentences ignoring any horticultural, or culinary qualities, and focusing solely on what some might find an unsavory description of its shape and nomenclature (apparently written to enlighten those who might not infer it).

i accept that buying online leaves one with the responsibility for making semi-informed choices and living with them, and that i could have gone to a brick and mortar bookstore, to peruse the contents of this manual. that said, i would have preferred a more exhaustive encyclopedic reference work dealing with the varieties of chiles, and might gladly have purchased as a separate text, the horticultural and preservation information contained herein (the best part of the book). the recipes could have been included in yet another, more extensive specialty cookbook, at a modest price, which i would not have been inclined to put on my shelf.

on the whole, this book is a well illustrated coffee table entertainment, with a 148 page chile horticulture and preservation narrative grafted into the middle of it, and i probably would not have purchased it as it stands, had i leafed through it.

i guess i mainly take exception to the misleading title, as this is certainly not a "complete" chile pepper book.

do not let me stop you from buying it, though- it may be exactly what you are looking for. the gardening and preservation section alone is probably worth the amazon price.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fairly good effort June 2, 2010

By mikecz

Format:Hardcover

Like reviewer Davis, the greatest problems I have with this book are the lack of indications of a range of plant sizes and a range of days-to-harvest for the chiles that they deign to cover. They describe the "top hundred (or so) chile peppers for the garden" in fewer than 50 pages (with quite a few excellent photos, though). The amount and type of information given for each chile variety is too variable. For some, but not all entries, you MIGHT find out how big the plant can get, how big the fruit is, what is the heat level (in Scoville units), is it ever a perennial? Both the authors are professors at New Mexico State University. I would be amazed if they would accept a graduate student's thesis with such a degree of inconsistency.

Because they are at NMSU and author Bosland is the Director of the Chile Pepper Institute, I must give credit for their considerably better than usual descriptions of a good number of the "Numex" chiles. For anyone who doesn't know, these were all originally developed at NMSU, with some going back to the late 1800's! (yeah, they have history!) The "Numex" breeding program continues in several directions today.

The cultivation chapter, the longest in the book, is the best. Based on experiences with commercial growers and home gardeners of variable expertise, the book discusses soil preparation and amendments, seed starting and growing on, water issues, too cold, too hot (? surprising!), too little light or too much (again, a surprise). There are some pages on container growing, and just a few hints about hydroponic, aeroponic, and other soil-less grow systems. There is a very good section on diseases and pests. This chapter also includes short sections on chiles as bonsai (yes!) and breeding and hybridizing chiles.

The chapter on processing and preserving chiles has some good points.

The chapter on cooking with chiles should have been left out to make way for a more encyclopedic listing of more varieties of chiles. Get a book written by Diana Kennedy or Rick Bayless if you want recipes.

I've reviewed this book from a library copy and it should probably be recommended to your library if there are many home gardeners in your area. At Amazon's price, I'll probably get a copy for my own library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Complete" in the title says it all!! December 7, 2009

By Constantreader23

Format:Hardcover

As an amateur gardener, avid cook and, most importantly, a spicy food aficionado, this book really has it all for me. Reading this late in November made me ready to pull out the seed catalogues and start preparing for spring. The authors provide a wealth of information on the subject of chili peppers. The first portion of the book is devoted to gardening. Without turning into a general gardening book, enough basic information is covered to assist the new gardener. I especially appreciated the in-depth description of pepper varieties, both for spring gardening choices, but also for produce shopping.
In addition to a lot of great gardening information and inspirational photography, it provides botanical information, as well. The graphics and charts really contribute to the very readable quality of this book.
But, my favorite part of the book is the recipe section. A number of easy, unusual recipes are included. The pepper infused vodka is so superior to anything you can buy at the store and was a huge hit at Thanksgiving when I used it to make my marinated cherry tomato appetizer! I brought the Double Trouble chocolate truffles to a party and they were the focus of conversation while they lasted! My family's favorites, so far, are Pasta with Green Chile Pesto and Thai Chile and Artichoke Pasta. But, I have a lot more on my list to try. In addition to recipes, a lot of good information is provided on preservation, including candied peppers, salt substitutes, pickling and canning.
A comprehensive glossary, bibliography and resource list provide even more information.
I appreciate having a book in my collection that covers all aspects of peppers. I know where to turn now for gardening questions, and, of course, really interesting recipes!