I. Hate. Peppers.

Or at least I did prior to the Pepper Party this Saturday.

You see, I’m not new to peppers. In fact, I would say that peppers and I are intimately acquainted. For five consecutive summers, peppers and I got to know each other in the sun soaked fields of a Pennsylvania farm. I’ve planted, picked, and peddled more peppers than I care to remember. Peter Piper has nothing on me.

Through all this time I’ve spent with peppers, I’ve never been particularly fond of them. They were always too hot for me. After a long day of pepper picking, its pretty likely that I have peppers in my eyes, nose and mouth. None of these are pleasant places to have peppers on a hot day.

As I approached the Pepper Party, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. I was thinking back to those long days of hot sun and hotter tongue. The dismal rain didn’t help either. But after walking through the botanical garden, I was pleasantly surprised.

We were greeted by the smell of peppers being roasted over open fires. Through the rain, we could see displays of dishes featuring peppers from around the world. Inside, we encountered samples of many different pepper filled delights.

If none of those things swayed my feelings for peppers, then the enthusiasm of the volunteers surely would have. These people knew more about peppers than I thought there was to know. I learned about capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot. Even more useful, I learned about the ways to cool down after tasting a particularly hot pepper. I now know always to keep dairy products on hand.

Overall, I loved the atmosphere of the Pepper Party. There were so many things to learn about and try. It was a great opportunity to see a part of Cornell that I hadn’t seen before. I was starting to think that peppers might not be so bad. That’s when I saw it.

Pepper. Flavored. Ice cream.

Where has this delicious treat been all my life? Why was anyone using peppers for anything else? How had I lived without this? Why wasn’t this mass produced for every grocery store in the world? Was I tasting the food of the gods?

My mind was slightly over come with the deliciousness I was experiencing. Suddenly, I forgave peppers for those long days spent in the sun. I forgave them for all the times my eyes burned and my tongue hurt. I even forgave them for how heavy a bushel of them was to carry. Pepper flavored ice cream made all of these things worth it.

I’m glad I went to the Pepper Party. It was time for peppers and I to bury the hatchet. Though I hope to never pick a pepper again, I might not mind tasting a few.