Capsicums and chillies are widely grown throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the world and are, in terms of the scale of produc- tion, the most important of all spices. Historically, India has been the largest producer of chillies and capsicums and, until relatively recently, it was chief exporter of these commodities.

However, the usefulness of this operation has been disputed. Also it should be noted that the fat is considered to have a beneficial action as a solvent for the pigment and aids colour dispersal in paprika.

The characteristic aroma and flavour of the fresh fruits used as vegetables’is imparted by the volatile oil. However, although present in paprika powder, capsicums and chillies, the volatile oil is generally regarded as being of lesser importance than the colour and pungency of the dried products as a determinant of acceptability and value. Conse- quently, relatively little attention has been devoted to the volatile oil and those studies carried out have been concerned mainly with the larger-fruited types of C. annuutn.

The distribution of the volatile oil in the fruit appears to be uneven, being largely found in the pericarp (Winton and Winton, 1939); and during maturation, the volatile-oil content progressively increases (Sievers and McIntyre, 1921). More recently, changes during matura- tion and differences between paprika cultivars grown in Eastern Europe have been reported by Ciric (1970) and peppers (C. annuum var. grossum) has been examined by Buttery et a!. (1969) using gas chromatography.

Other significant, if smaller-scale, exporters include Romania, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Turkey and Greece. Trade in paprika has felt the effects of a sudden expansion in the United States’ production since 1940 and the remark- ably increased demand from many countries, most notably West Germany, since the 1960s. The world’s production of capsicums and chillies exceeds that of paprika. In trade, chillies and capsicums are again more important than paprika but the difference between the two broad groups is much reduced.

Although only a small number of samples have been analysed and some differences between cultivars are apparent, it seems that the seed and pericarp fat of paprika types are distinguishable, the former possessing a somewhat higher unsaturated acid content. The fat content and composition of paprika powder, and its propensity to autoxidation and perhaps also to discoloration, are therefore dependent upon whether the seeds are removed from the pod before grinding. Chillies may be distinguished from paprika according to the relative abundance of certain fatty acids. However, greater sampling is necessary to test the validity of this hypothesis.