Chillies

Large chillies are less hot and spicy. Medium chillies are medium hot and spicy. Small chillies or Bird Chillies are very hot and spicy. Please note that internationally the spelling for 'chilli' varies greatly, you may come across chili, chi lie, chilli, chile, it is all the same and there appears to be no standard spelling.

Preparing chillies: when you touch or chop chillies, be careful not to touch your eyes or any other soft or sensitive skin on your body as it will burn hot, you can always coat your fingers in vegetable oil first. The spiciest part of the chilli is actually the membrane holding the seeds. After touching or chopping chillies wash your hands thoroughly with lemon or soap. You can also rinse your hands with milk or rub butter on them - dairy products neutralise the acids. Wait at least half an hour before you touch your face, eyes or private parts, i.e. going to the toilet!

To freeze chillies: roast and peel them and then you can keep them in an airtight container for up to six months.

If you 'burn' your eyes then wash out your eyes immediately in clean water by opening and closing the lids many times giving your eyes an eye bath for a few minutes. They will sting for about 15-20 minutes but should clear after that.

If you 'burn' your mouth while eating a spicy dish then have some plain rice, bread, milk yoghurt, salt water, banana, peanut butter, ice cream, these will cool down your mouth quite quickly. Capasacin, the chemical that causes the chillies spiciness, is oil and is thus not soluble in water so just a plain glass of water won't help!

As a plant, chillies survive only because when birds eat the peppers, the seeds remain whole in their droppings and can germinate. Birds are not bothered by the capsaicin and mammals, which chew seeds, tend to steer clear of chillies! Chillies are actually a genus of the nightshade family, Solanaceae and are native to Central and South America, they were most likely introduced to Thailand by Spanish and Portuguese traders in the early 17th century.

Chillies contain the following nutrients: Calcium, folate or folic acid, iron, lysine, magnesium, phenylalanine, phosphorous, Potassium, tryptophan, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C (fresh chillies are a richer source than oranges) and Riboflavin.

The heat of the chilli pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), multiples of l00 units. Thai chillies average around 70-80’000 units from zero units for the bell pepper. The hottest chilli pepper is around 550’000 units though this is still being disputed. The American Wilbur Scoville, a chemist, invented the method of ‘heat’ calculation in 1912. He called it the Scoville Organaloptic Test and used human subjects to measure the heat. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has now replaced this particular method though units are still calculated in SHU.

You can of course just experiment yourself and see how 'hot' you get!