The Columbian Exchange fascinates me. 400 - 500 years ago, things like corn, tomatoes, peppers, peanuts and others were totally unknown to the “old world.” But in a relatively short amount of time certain "new world" crops have become a fixture all over the globe. I stumbled across this great article discussing how the tomato was slowly adopted in both Italy and China.

This article got me thinking about the Chili pepper. To my understanding, peppers were forced on Asian counties to take as trade by the Portuguese. But cultures that are stereotyped as insular, adopted and appropriated the chili. How did this “forced import” become such a cultural icon and a staple in Thai, Szechuan, Southern Indian cuisine? How did something that could've been seen as a luxury item get merged into the dishes of the average population? Why did they not become as prevalent in Europe?