This post is the last in my monthly series on spices.
Chillies come in many shapes and sizes.
How hot they are is measured on the Scoville Heat Scale. There are heaps of different chillies (they
say over 300!) so I'll concentrate on the more well known ones.
It is hard to judge
how hot a chilli is just by looking at it.
Generally the smaller the chilli the hotter it is. The wider it is the milder it will be. The only way to really tell though is to
taste it – cautiously!
From mild to
searingly hot:
Poblano and Ancho –
most commonly used chilli in Mexico
Jalapeno
Chipotle – a smoked
ripe Jalapeno
Cayenne
Bird's Eye/ Thai
Chilli – small, dark red – really hot.
Scotch Bonnet and
Habanero – outrageously hot – use with caution.
Handle with gloves.
Chilli powder is
not pure chilli – often less than 20% of it is chilli. So chilli powder is often relatively mild.
If you burn your
mouth on chilli, don't rely on drinking water to make you feel better – go for
an alcoholic drink or something dairy based.
Or eat a small spoon of sugar.
Chillies are high
in Vitamin C, are antioxidants and are claimed to be antibacterial and to help
lower cholesterol.
Cooking with chillies
Chillies can go
with everything that pepper would go with.
You can put them with fish,
vegetables, fruit, chocolate and, of course, meat. Do try chilli flavoured chocolate – it's just
super!
Tabasco sauce is made
from Louisiana chillies
I keep powdered, flaked,
dried and fresh chillies at all times.
It's always chilli time!
If you want to reduce
the heat remove the seeds and any white membranes from your chillies.
Dried chillies have a
deeper flavour than fresh – particularly good for curries. Soak them in hot water for a few minutes
before chopping them. You can use the water
they soaked in to add zing to stocks/soups.
Try blackening chillies
directly over heat for an interesting twist.
Just like you would with a capsicum or bell pepper.
Try adding some dried
chilli flakes into pasta sauce. Soak a
few dried chillies in a cup of sherry and add a few drops onto the top of soups
when serving.
Put a little finely
shredded dried Mexican chillies on top of ice cream.
Recipes – Bok
Choy Chilli Eggs, Beef
Sausages with Chilli Cherry Plum Sauce, Avocado
Tomato Chilli Salad, Peppered
Prawn Stir Fry, Stuffed
Chicken Thighs, Savoury
Watermelon Salad, Chinese
Eggplant Stir Fry, Fish
Curry, Red
Curry Paste, Bok
Choy Chilli Eggs, Roast
Pork with Chilli Gravy
I drew on a number
of books/sources for information. This
post is a list of them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - with thanks to Auckland Libraries
Cook's Encyclopaedia
of Spices by Sallie Morris & Lesley Mackley
Discovering
Vegetables, Herbs & Spices by Susanna Lyle
Spice Market by Jane
Lawson
Spicery by Ian &
Elizabeth Hemphill
Spices & Natural
Flavourings by Jennifer Mulherin
Spices by Sophie
Grigson
Spices Condiments and
Seasonings by Kenneth T Farrell
Spices, Salt and
Aromatics in the English Kitchen by Elizabeth David
The Cook's Companion
by Stephanie Alexander
Awww...you missed my new favorite - ghost peppers - hotter than Habanero, but easier to grow - i have a small bush that is now over 2 years old! Lots of wonderful peppers with a different taste than habanero (which goes well with fruits like mango - the habanero that is).
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