Monday 23 February 2009

What the Heck is an 'Aji Chombo'?

Yep.

Once more I digress from the original point of 'Aji Chombo's 2009 Chilli growing journal.'

Really, there should be no surprise there. I had warned all of you I'd find ways of going off tangent (I'm kind of like Pinky, from Pinky and the Brain in that bizarre yet methodical way. And I do apologise to all of you who seek true knowledge for making the majority of my links from 'shudder' wikipedia).

This deviation, though, has purpose!

You see, to those of you who are not native to 'Aji Chombo Land', or are not consumate 'sages' of capsicum wisdom, 'Aji Chombo' sounds like something quirky, foreign, and exotic. It might even sound like a half-drunken battle-cry for Xena: Warrior Princess (no wikipedia reference there. I expect you all to know who she is!).

Aji Chombos are a variety of Capsicum chinense (a type of very hot chilli. Chinense varieties are said to originate from Central America and the Caribbean. In other blogs I'll tell you folks about some really good books to read about capsicums). The name is derived from two words: 'Aji', which is generic Latin American Spanish for 'Chilli', and 'Chombo', which is a slang for 'Afro-Caribbean'. It is quite literally translated to 'Black people chillies.' The historical origins of the name are a bit of a mystery to me (if you are from 'Aji Chombo Land' as well, and wish to contribute to this blog by providing us with the correct information, please feel free to share it with us).

My take on it is that it must have either a) been a variety of capsicum already existing in 'Aji Chombo Land' which was utilised by West indian labourers who migrated there during the building of the 'Great Irrigation Ditch', or b) it was imported into 'Aji Chombo Land' by said West indian labourers (hence the name).

If you want to see some photos, there are a few other websites with photos of them, though The Chileman keeps a database of pretty much anything capsicum, so it's always a good place to go for reference.

So there you have it. Now you know a little bit about me.

:-)

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