Some like it HOT - Know your chillies and their heat rating

Posted on Aug 17, 2017  | Tags: fruit, chillies

Buying

Choose vibrant coloured chillies with glossy taut skin.

Storing

Store chillies in a snap-lock plastic bag or airtight container in the crisper. Use within 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze chillies for up to 6 months.

Preparation

It’s best to wear rubber gloves. If you like a chilli flavour but prefer less heat remove the seeds. To remove seeds, halve chilli lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a teaspoon. Slice or chop the chilli as required.

Varieties and their uses

Long red and green chillies 3-4/10*

Vary in heat but a good all round chilli with a mild flavour. The red ones are slightly sweeter. Slice and add red chilli to all sorts of salads, pasta sauces and stir-fries. Add green chillies to salsas.

Bird’s eye chilli 7-8/10*

An intensely-flavoured compact chilli with thin skin. Excellent in south-east Asian dishes like curries, laksa, Thai salads and dipping sauces as well as curry paste. The unripe green bird’s eye has a more intense sharper flavour.

Jalapeno chilli 8/10*

A small fleshy fiery chilli with a similar texture to a capsicum. Excellent in Mexican dishes, salsas and guacamole and it teams really well with tomatoes.

Thai chilli 7/10*

A small thin chilli in a range of colours with distinct hot chilli flavour. Use it in south-east Asian curries, soups and stir-fries.

Habanero 10/10*

A very hot plump fleshy chilli that certainly packs a punch of flavour! Available in a range of colours. Dried habanero is used in the now popular, chipotle mayonnaise.

*Heat rating