Peppers: The Domesticated Capsicums, New Edition (Hardcover)

~ Jean Andrews (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Since its original publication in 1984, Peppers has become the complete and classic source for the history and dispersion, biology and taxonomy, cultivation, and medicinal, economic, and gastronomic uses of the domesticated capsicum. In this new edition, Jean Andrews updates each section with new material gathered over the last ten years. Particularly interesting are her descriptions of recent medicinal uses of peppers (including a recipe for pain-relieving capsaicin cream) and the inclusion of two additional cultivars, Datil and Scotch Bonnet. Like the first edition, this volume is illustrated with botanically accurate, yet aesthetically pleasing paintings that show the blossoms, buds, young peppers, and mature specimens of 34 cultivars in full color. Dr. Andrews also provides a recipe for the most typical dish in which each pepper is used, recipes that she herself has tested and served to grateful friends. With its up-to-the-minute, encyclopedic text and beautiful illustrations, Peppers remains a botanical natural history par excellence.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292704674
• ISBN-13: 978-0292704671
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,297,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

First published in 1984, Peppers is one of the most beautiful books about any food plant we've ever seen. Author Jean Andrews is not only the artist behind 34 full color plates of the world's capsicums, she is also a thorough historian of food whose work has influenced many books about capsicums that followed hers. Peppers is to the capsicum family what Redcliffe Salaman's The History and Social Influence of the Potato is to solanum tuberosum, with the bonus of color illustrations. Andrews' book explores the origins of the plant, its travels beyond South America, its biological and economic story, its multiple varieties, its most recent high tech implications, and ends with several recipes, and a photographic glossary of botanical terms. Any student of food plants will find repeated value in this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vade mecum, August 2, 2005

By	Simon Cotton (Uppingham, Rutland, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book as a chemist looking for information on the chilli pepper. I certainly found it. The book is exquisitely illustrated with numerous colour plates, photographs and drawings. No excuse for confusing your Habanero with your Pimento. It has also got a very detailed bibliography. In between the covers there is a detailed account of the history of peppers, their biology and their uses. The author belongs to the prevailing culture that dictates that chemical structures should not appear in a popular science text, but that's my only criticism. I look forward to reading it again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Beautifully Illustrated Books on My Shelf, February 26, 2009

By	J. Canestrino (Lodi, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is no doubt that Peppers: The Domesticated Capsicums contains heaps of useful information about the origins, culinary uses, production and management of peppers. But where it really stands out is in the stunningly detailed and colored drawings rendered by the author; all the more striking for the large format in which this book is published. In looking at my shelves full of books covering a wide range of plants and horticultural crops the only one I can see that even comes close to being comparable for its botanical illustrations is Lanner's Conifers of California. Round out your bookshelf with The Pepper Garden and Peppers of the World by DeWitt and Bosland, the AVDRC's Pepper Diseases: A Field Guide and the Grower's IPM Guide for Florida Tomato and Pepper Production from the University of Florida and you will have all the references you should need to quench your burning desire for knowledge on this most pungent of plants.