detail in chapter 13 Pepper Terminology In the United States, pungent capsicum fruits are generally called “peppers,” or “hot peppers,” terms that stem from the early Spanish identification of capsicum pungency with black-pepper pungency The native Nahuatl word was chilli, which gave rise to Spanish chile, and in turn to American chili (both a capsicum-flavored stew and the powder used to make it) Chile the country got its name from an entirely unrelated word (Araucanian for “the end of the earth”) Given the many possibilities for confusion, I agree with Alan Davidson and others that we should refer to pungent capsicums with the original and unambiguous Nahuatl name chilli Mahleb Mahleb or mahaleb is the dried kernel of a small kind of cherry native to Iran, Prunus mahaleb The kernels have a warm aroma vaguely suggestive of bitter almond, and are used to flavor baked goods and sweets in much of the eastern Mediterranean Mastic Mastic is a resin exuded from the trunk of a relative of the pistachio, Pistacia lentiscus, a tree native to the Eastern Mediterranean that now grows only on the Greek island of Chios Mastic was chewed like chewing gum (hence its name, from the same root as masticate), and is also used to flavor various preparations, from breads and pastries to ice cream, candies, and alcohol (ouzo) The main aromatic components of the gum are two terpenes, pine-like pinene and woody myrcene Myrcene is also the molecule from which the long resin polymers are built The resin is not very soluble in water, so it must be ground fine and mixed with another powdery ingredient (flour, sugar) to help ... from the trunk of a relative of the pistachio, Pistacia lentiscus, a tree native to the Eastern Mediterranean that now grows only on the Greek island of Chios Mastic was chewed like chewing gum (hence... name, from the same root as masticate), and is also used to flavor various preparations, from breads and pastries to ice cream, candies, and alcohol (ouzo) The main aromatic components of the gum...kernel of a small kind of cherry native to Iran, Prunus mahaleb The kernels have a warm aroma vaguely suggestive of bitter almond, and are used to flavor baked goods and sweets in much of the eastern Mediterranean