When Portuguese sailors set sail for the “New World” in the late 15th century, they were chasing spice dreams — gold, pepper, and prestige. What they didn’t expect to find was a little red pod that would change the world: the chilli. Grown by the peoples of the Americas for millennia, chillies were not just food — they were medicine, offering warmth, energy, and spirit.
By the early 1500s, Portuguese traders had carried chilli seeds back across the oceans. From Lisbon they spread to Africa, where the fiery pods found a natural home in local stews and sauces — peri-peri in Mozambique, malagueta in Angola, and countless peppered dishes across the West African coast. The heat matched the rhythm of the sun and the pulse of life.
But it was in India that chillies truly rooted themselves. Replacing the black pepper that once ruled the spice markets, the chilli became part of daily cooking — from Goan vindaloo to Kashmiri rogan josh. What began as a colonial curiosity became a symbol of identity, flavour, and fire. A spice born in the Americas, sailed by the Portuguese, and embraced by half the world — the chilli reminds us that flavour, like culture, travels and transforms.
Whether you love or hate chilli, enjoy this weeks flavours, Steve and the Spice Team