Chilis of Many Lands

In a 696-page, 1 3/4-pound book entitled “Chilimania,” Herb and Chris Geltner have apparently compiled every chili recipe they’ve ever heard of (together with some “related dishes” such as salsas and enchiladas), a staggering total of 955 recipes. A whole lot are from El Paso or Cincinnati, two cities proud of their local chili, but they come from all over--there’s a Swedish bowl o’ red flavored with dill and brandy. Strange fact: Most of the Wisconsin recipes include celery and pasta. It’s $14.95 plus $3 shipping and handling from GSC Books, P.O. Box 2333, Merritt Island, Fla. 32954-2333.

Perching in an Ecological Niche

One day you might buy fish from Kenya. Called Lake Victoria perch, they’re actually a Nile species introduced to Lake Victoria in the ‘60s as game fish, but these big, voracious feeders have devastated the native fish, and today they account for 70% of the total catch from the lake. Afro Meat Co. Ltd. of Kenya understandably advertises them as the fish of the future.

A Swab to the Rescue

The colorful glazes on old or imported china may contain lead. To find out, you can rub a LeadCheck Swab on the suspect dishware for 30 seconds; don’t serve or store food in it if the swab turns pink. A $5.95 package contains two swabs, usable for up to four tests. Available at Ace, True Value, K-Mart and other hardware and home supply stores.

Where’s the Chevon?

Goats, as we know, can eat just about anything--a boon to the farmer with small or poor acreage if we could only develop a taste for goat meat. And in taste tests, Americans do like beef and goat meat equally . . . until they learn they’ve been eating goat. (They don’t object so much, though, if goat is called by the French term chevon. For that matter, the Australian insect larvae with the awful name witchetty grubs are quite delicious, but people would be a lot more likely to eat them if they were called “land shrimp.”)

Pigs on Patrol

You know snow globes--those knicknacks you shake to cause a snowstorm on the scene inside. A snow globe specialty store called Global Shakeup sells one that shows a gourmet pig named Hamlett standing on a French restaurant (which is also a windup music box) and wielding a spoon and a chef’s toque against the intermittent weather. In the Westside Pavilion, 10800 W. Pico Blvd., Westwood; $39.95.

Food as Medicine, Part No. 1,298,457

Capsaicin, the hot stuff in chile peppers, causes pain--but it also kills pain-transmitting nerve fibers, and chili salves have been developed that can relieve pain for up to several weeks. Unfortunately, the hot stuff still burns, causing up to a day of pain before the analgesic effect kicks in. Still, the Food and Drug Administration has already approved at least one capsaicin medicine for treating the intensely painful illness herpes zoster (shingles).