Decoder Ring: How the Jalapeno Lost Its Heat
b'The jalape\\xf1o is the workhorse of hot peppers. They\\u2019re sold fresh, canned, pickled, in hot sauces, salsas,\\xa0smoked into chipotles, and they outsell all other hot peppers in the United States. These everyday chilies are a scientific and sociological marvel, and tell a complicated story about Mexican food and American palates.\\nIn today\\u2019s episode, we meet Dallas-based food critic Brian Reinhart, who fell in love with spicy Mexican cuisine as a teenager. Recently, Brian started to notice that the jalape\\xf1os he\\u2019d buy in the grocery store were less and less hot. So he called up an expert: Dr. Stephanie Walker, who studies chili pepper genetics at New Mexico State University. She explains that the food industry has been breeding milder jalape\\xf1os for decades \\u2013 a project led by \\u201cDr. Pepper\\u201d himself, Benigno Villalon.\\xa0\\nFinally, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano puts the jalape\\xf1o in context, as part of an age-old cycle in Americans\\u2019 obsession with Mexican food: one more ingredient that\\u2019s been \\u201cdiscovered,\\u201d celebrated, then domesticated.\\nBrian Reinhart\\u2019s article about the jalape\\xf1o ran in D Magazine. Gustavo Arellano\\u2019s book is called Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.\\xa0\\nThis episode was produced by Evan Chung, who produces the show with Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.\\nIf you haven\\u2019t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.\\nIf you\\u2019re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate\\u2019s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.\\xa0\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'