News Interesting NatGeo article: Travel to the home of Hot Sauce

[Andy_T]

Interesting article with beautiful pictures ...

A Journey to the Homeland of Hot Sauce

Today chilies are integral to cuisines around the globe, but they were only introduced to the larger world in the 15th century by Christopher Columbus, following his collision with the Americas. Some scientists trace the plant’s evolutionary origins to a part of Bolivia between Sucre and Cochabamba, two cities that will form the backbone of my journey. With the recent publication of my book Hot Sauce Nation, about our national love affair with spicy food, I’m intent on a kind of pilgrimage through this birthplace of the chili pepper and to find hot sauce in its purest, most ancient form.

Only one question remains for me to ask ...

If it truly originates from Bolivia (and not, from, say, Chile) ... then why is it called Chili pepper and not Bolivian pepper or similar?