#SpreadTheLove
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
Feeling hot, hot, hot? We wish! I’m sure it’s time for Winter to stop now, isn’t it? Well we thought we’d bring you some heat of a different kind to make up for all the cold.
Today is… NATIONAL CHILLI DAY!
Yes, it’s a whole day dedicated to that most marvellous cooking ingredient – the humble chilli . Like them or loathe them, those red and green cooking bombs have been tickling our tastebuds since they were first introduced to the western world by Christopher Columbus in the 1500s, but early records suggest chillis were spicing things up in Mexico as early as 3500BC!
Of course our Disco Fairies have found just the thing for you to wear in order to show your appreciation of the chilli –The Red Hot Chilli Bracelet!
And maybe you could rustle up a little curry to top the celebrations off?
How about this number from local celebrity chef Rick Stein...Carne Con chilli.
Or if you are a vegetarian, try this amazingly easy but tasty Microwave chilli with added chocolate goodness!
Personally I’m not a fan of the take-your-head-off version and will always remove the seeds when cooking with a chilli, but you’ve got to hand it to them – chillis and/or chilli powder can make or break a dish. You can literally add a bit of chilli kick to anything and it will turn it into something new. So good are they (and spices generally) the spice trade was in fact the first ever global trade (thanks to Christopher Columbus).
Talking cookery, did you know that there is an actual name for measuring the hotness of a chilli, and a scale to go with it? It’s called the ‘Scoville Scale’ and it’s named after the pharmacist who came up with the idea in 1912, Wilber Scoville. Originally the only way of testing the heat was the human tongue (ouch). These days they use chemicals (phew!).
To give you an idea – bell peppers measure 1-100 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), Cayenne pepper is 30,000-50,000 SHU and the hottest chilli known to man, the Carolina Reaper, can reach up to 2.2 million SHU. Definitely not one for the curry!
Happy Chilli Day ☺
Love, Lisa
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