It's pepper season. 🌶️⁠ ⁠ If your garden is suddenly producing more peppers than you know what to do with, here's a fun fact to enjoy while you're harvesting.⁠ ⁠ The jalapeño, the ghost pepper, the Tabasco pepper, and the sweet bell pepper aren't just different varieties. They're members of five distinct Capsicum species, each with its own history, flavors, and surprising traits.⁠ ⁠ In "Heat, History, and the Human Condition," Krista Kjellman Schmidt and Matt Mattus explore the remarkable diversity behind one of the world's most widely grown crops.⁠ ⁠ 🌶️ Capsicum annuum – The shape-shifters. Sweet bells, jalapeños, poblanos, cayennes, and countless others all belong here.⁠ ⁠ 🌶️ Capsicum chinense – Home to habaneros, Scotch bonnets, ghost peppers, and Carolina Reapers. Famous for blistering heat—and surprisingly fruity, tropical flavors.⁠ ⁠ 🌶️ Capsicum baccatum – South America's beloved ají peppers, prized for their bright, fruity flavor and starring role in Peruvian cuisine.⁠ ⁠ 🌶️...