Panamanian food has its regional and ethnic variations, and a wide range of international influences. However, it's generally not as spicy hot as a lot of foreigners presume. (The problem is that in the United States much of the population only knows a certain variety of Mexican when it comes to Latin American cuisine, and they wrongly project Mexican norms onto the wonderfully varied nations and cultures found throughout Latin America.) In any case, one of the ultra-spicy exceptions to the mildness of Panamanian food comes from these tiny bird peppers.

When picking, cutting or cooking with these peppers, you should use gloves or some other means of avoiding direct contact between them and your skin. One of the very worst things you can do is to handle these and then rub your eyes!

With that caveat, bird peppers are good for a lot of things. A few go a long way, whether fresh, pickled or dried. One or two in a bottle of vegetable oil will give you that zing to make some of the spicier Chinese regional stir-fried recipes in your wok. Use these to taste to make your ceviche slightly to extremely hot. If you're on a diet, heat up half a liter of water with one of these peppers, a few slices of onion, a few chunks of peeled and diced chayote and a package of chicken with achiote broth mix. Discard the pepper when the soup's done --- or leave it in if you're brave, foolhardy or into ultra-spicy fare --- and enjoy a cheap and spicy low-calorie meal.

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