What would life be without chillies?

Christopher Columbus, the man we must thank for introducing the chilli to the Old World.

Christopher Columbus could have had little idea just how profound would be the impact, of him mistaking chillies (Capsicum) for the much sought after pepper (Piper nigrum), which he discovered in the Caribbean, while looking for a Western sea route to the East.

In what became known as the Columbian Exchange – a phrase coined by historian Alfred W Crosby in his book of the same name – in which the New World exchanged animals, plants and diseases with the Old World, chillies along with the likes of maize, potatoes and tomatoes were introduced into Europe by Columbus and his fellow explorers.