Sow seeds or plant seedlings to grow your favourite type of chilli at home – it’s so easy!
Easy to grow, good for you and boasting a multitude of culinary uses, chillies are a great addition to your diet.
Chillies belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, which also includes potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. Native to South America, they have been part of our diet for centuries.
About 6000BC, the inhabitants of Brazil and Peru began eating wild chillies, known as aji. Traces from this period have been found in Peruvian burial sites, indicating that they were valued enough to be carried into the afterlife.
They’re good for your health, too. As well as being high in vitamin C, eating them in a meal helps control insulin levels, according to research by the University of Tasmania.
Regular consumption of chillies is also reputed to be beneficial for inflammatory diseases, and they have long been used in herbal medicine to stimulate the circulatory and digestive systems.
Chillies belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, which also includes potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. Native to South America, they have been part of our diet for centuries.
About 6000BC, the inhabitants of Brazil and Peru began eating wild chillies, known as aji. Traces from this period have been found in Peruvian burial sites, indicating that they were valued enough to be carried into the afterlife.
They’re good for your health, too. As well as being high in vitamin C, eating them in a meal helps control insulin levels, according to research by the University of Tasmania.
Regular consumption of chillies is also reputed to be beneficial for inflammatory diseases, and they have long been used in herbal medicine to stimulate the circulatory and digestive systems.
Capsaicin is a chemical in chillies that gives them their heat and therapeutic value. The more a chilli contains, the hotter it will be.
Chillies are rated on a heat scale known as the Scoville Scale, which is divided into heat units. It is based on the dilution of ground chillies in sugar water to measure their pungency.
Most of the capsaicin is contained in the seeds and white ribs inside the fruit. Removing both from the chilli will reduce the heat. Capsaicin levels in chillies are affected by the climate and environment, as well as by the cultivar.
Cool weather and too much nitrogen in the soil can slow the production of capsaicin.
HINT: Wear gloves or wash your hands after handling chillies, and don’t rub your eyes or other sensitive areas.
How to grow your own
Chillies come from the same wild species as the capsicum, and there are more than 200 varieties of these short-lived perennial plants. In many parts of the world they are known as hot peppers.
Chilli fruit follows white flowers and comes in lots of shapes and sizes. Depending on the variety, they can ripen from green to shades of yellow, orange, brown, purple or red. The more mature a chilli is, the hotter it will be.
These warm-season plants can be grown in tropical and subtropical climates all year round. If you grow your own, you will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest.
Dry in the sun outdoors or on a windowsill, then cut in half lengthways and place on baking paper. Turn every day until dry. You can also thread the stalks on cotton and hang in a well-ventilated, dry spot for at least three weeks. When dried, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to a year.
Freeze fresh chillies in freezer bags for about six months.
Information collated from various sources and Handyman
Freeze fresh chillies in freezer bags for about six months.
Information collated from various sources and Handyman