Chilli chat – Talking about the Chilli

What do Chillies taste like?

When we think of chillies, the first thing that comes to mind is their fiery heat. But there’s more to these spicy peppers than just the burn.  It is also how they smell and taste. Each variety of Chilli offers a unique taste experience, from mild and sweet to intensely spicy and smoky In this post, we embark on a flavourful journey, exploring the diverse tastes that different chillies have to offer.

Some chillies greet our taste buds with a gentle sweetness and mild heat. These are chillies that are used as vegetables rather than as a spice  Examples include the popular bell peppers, which are not spicy at all but contribute a pleasant, slightly tangy flavour to dishes. Poblano peppers, with their mild heat and rich, earthy taste, are also favourites in Mexican cuisine. These sweet and mild chillies provide a delightful balance in various culinary creations.

Medium chillies encompass a diverse range of flavours and heat levels. For example, the Cayenne Chilli brings a fiery and pungent flavour with a subtle sweetness, while Indian green Chillies offer a vibrant and zesty taste with a hint of citrus. Jalapenos contribute a refreshing and mildly spicy profile with a pleasant grassy note, and Thai Bird’s Eye chillies bring an intense and sharp heat accompanied by fruity undertones. Combining these medium chillies allows for a culinary exploration that balances heat and flavour, lending depth and complexity to a variety of dishes across different cuisines.

Moving up the flavour scale, we encounter chillies with fruity and tangy profiles. The Habanero Chilli known for its intense heat brings a distinctive fruity flavour to dishes. It offers a tropical twist with hints of citrus, mango, and even apricot. Similarly, the Scotch bonnet pepper, a close relative of the habanero, delivers a sweet and tangy taste that adds depth and complexity to Caribbean and West African dishes.

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Dorset Chilli Festival

When I met David Tamlyn of Weymouth51 earlier this year at the at the Dorset Chilli festival I sensed there was an interesting story to be told about this interesting character in the UK Chilli world.  As a blogger on the Chilli Workshop, I am always interested to find out how Chilli sauce businesses came into being.  To me it is a fascinating subject.

What initially caught my eye was the interesting names he had for his Chilli sauces, including Rhubarb and Custard, Tutti Fruity and Scorpion on the beach. Never mind the likes of Rockfish Oyster   Drizzle, Allotment Special and The Kicker.  These names really intrigued me, so I had to find out more. To do just that I asked David if I could interview him. He agreed and what I found out didn’t fail to disappoint.

I learnt that Rhubarb and Custard got its name when David (who grows his own Chillies) noticed that a mixture of yellow and red Chillies (Yellow Jigsaws, Jamaican Yellow, Yellow Trinidad Perfume, Lemon Aji and Red Naga Chillies) he had picked to make sauce and placed in a wheelbarrow looked remarkably like the dessert. Thus, the name was borne Read more

Award winning producer

Michael Price of Prices Spices is an entrepreneur in his 40’s, who has distinguished himself in the Chilli scene within the United Kingdom by achieving no fewer than 21 Great Taste awards and two Foodie awards. Amongst the many Great Taste Awards, Michael also achieved the top accolade of a Golden Fork award from the Guild of Fine food in 2021. He was also the 2016 winner of the new business category from the Leamington business awards.

Great Taste awards are awarded to only the very best foods (including sauces) in the United Kingdom( and other countries around the world) .  They are awarded by the Guild of Fine food after a rigorous judging process in which the sauces are blind tested by elected chefs, cooks, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers.  The judges consider the texture, appearance of the product and quality of ingredients. They also take aroma and bite into consideration, but of paramount importance is the taste of the      products.

Similarly, the Foodie Awards are a food and drinks awards program for Coventry and Warwickshire to celebrate the makers, creators and providers of excellent food, drinks and hospitality experiences. Micheal’s award falls under the Artisan food producers category which  as Foodie awards put it ” recognises an artisan food producer who really does have the wow factor”

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Stuck in France

Sometimes when growing Chillies, the strangest things happen. And that is exactly what happened to me this season.   My Chilli growing season was following a normal pattern, and then disaster struck. Half my Chillies died. This wasn’t due to any mistakes I made, but rather due to what life throws at you.  Let me explain.

When my wife and I went to Bordeaux in France for her birthday, we had no idea what was waiting for us.  We had gone to the region to visit wine estates when a we were hit by the unexpected.  What was supposed to be a relaxing one-week holiday, eating fine French cuisine and drinking good wine in sunny France, turned into a nightmare. We caught COVID-19.

In France, the regulations dictate that when you get Corona virus disease, you must mandatorily self-isolate for seven days. In our case, it struck down my wife first. Three days later, I too became infected.  That was it. It meant we were stuck in the country. We had no choice but to follow the rules. A holiday that was only supposed to have taken a week landed up with us being holed up in a hotel room for ten days, with reception and room service being our only connection to the outside world.

Before leaving for France, had I known that we were going to be away for so long, I would have been more careful to ensure my plants had more than enough water to survive longer. Particularly because I knew that the United Kingdom was in the throes of a heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to be well over 30 degrees Celsius for the period. Unfortunately, I didn’t. There was no way to predict what would happen.

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In search of adventure

Upon his arrival in Africa during the late 19th century, Robert Alexander Fletcher, a Scottish cartographer seeking adventure, unknowingly laid the foundation for one of Africa’s premier chilli sauces. The genesis of Dr Trouble Chilli sauces can be traced back to Fletcher’s experiences in Zimbabwe and the unique journey that unfolded.

Initially employed by the infamous British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes, Fletcher embarked on a mission to map the territories colonized by Rhodes, collectively known as Rhodesia. Armed with just a rifle, salt, and a flint, he and his assistant traversed the African bushveld on horseback, relying on their hunting skills to procure sustenance from the wild. Survival also meant depending on the numerous streams and rivers for water.

During his extensive travels, Fletcher received a gift of chillies from an African tribal leader. These chillies, likely of the African Birds-eye variety, may have reached the region through trade with Arab or Portuguese merchants. Fletcher, envisioning possibilities, retained some of these chillies as seeds. It’s plausible that, in the heart of the African wilderness, he experimented with combining these chillies with wild lemons and salt to enhance the flavour of the meats grilled over open fires.

Upon returning home, Fletcher cultivated the seeds and delved into refining the knowledge acquired in the bushveld. His experimentation led to a meticulous process, including sun fermentation, resulting in a chili sauce that satisfied his discerning palate. The rudimentary recipe for this unique concoction was recorded on the back of a notebook, marking the genesis of the renowned Dr Trouble Chili sauces. It was the start of bigger and better things to come

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Solving the mystery

The Piri Piri or African devil is one of my favourite Chillies. It has great flavour and has a hot, pleasant bite. It is used among many other uses in cooking to make Portuguese favourites, like Piri-Piri chicken, prawns, sauce and Piri Piri oil. It is a favourite in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and many other Portuguese speaking parts of the world.

One thing that I have always found fascinating is the relationship between the Piri- Piri Chillies and the Malagueta Chillies from Brazil. I have known they are distant cousins, but which came first? The Malaguetas or the Piri- Piri. There is no doubt the Portuguese who introduced the Malaguetas to Africa, but where did they encounter Malaguetas for the first time? Did they find them in Brazil when they discovered the country, or was it somewhere else?

To answer this question, I decided to do some investigation. I put on my detective’s cap. Chief inspector Morich was on the case. It was time to solve the mystery of the Malaguetas and Piri- Piri Chillies. And what an investigation it would turn out to be!

The first thing I investigated was what the similarity is between Malaguetas and Piri Piri Chillies. I wanted to find just how close they are. After all, Chillies grown in different environments (even if they start the same) may develop different qualities. They may differ in taste, size, and pungency. Was this the case with Malaguetas and Piri- Piri Chillies? I certainly wanted to find out.

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