Growing Chillies

Red and White · 14 Jul 2009 at 09:24

ok ive got tons of chillis now!

but what do i do with them all!

dont want them to go to waste and they dont seem to last long once theyve been picked, anyone got any recipes or storage tips?

Deluxe1 · 14 Jul 2009 at 09:33

Dry them out and grind into powder will last for ages.

VFR_KID · 14 Jul 2009 at 09:50

Could freeze them, I'm sure Nick did with his.

I fancy trying to make some chilli sauce.

Just google recipes.

Dave M · 14 Jul 2009 at 09:53

Straight into the freezer once picked (but them in a bag so they don't get freezer burn). I've only just run out of the frozen chillies I harvester last year.

Gone back to the supermarket ones and they're awful in comparison - I'll buy a full grown plant from a garden centre if none of my plants come good.

a1ex2001 · 14 Jul 2009 at 11:03

GinG said:
Well Disaster has struck.

I was swarmed by what seems hundered of white/green fly.

After taking advice from the forum I sprayed a bit of soapy water on them. This seemed to work a treat, until a week later, all the flowers have turned black and dropped. The plant is now turning black!!!

Back to the drawing board...

thats not the soapy water, I've been sparaying mine and loads of other plants for years quite heavily with no adverse effect sounds like you may have picked up some sort of disease.

I've finally got fruit, one of my three plants has now got four Chillies growing but sadly the other two don't seem to be keeping up! One has flowered loads but doesn't produce any pollen and pollen from the other plant isn't having the desired effect. The third plant has just started to flower so fingers crossed that one will produce as well.

Red and White · 14 Jul 2009 at 14:00

Telescopi said:
Straight into the freezer once picked (but them in a bag so they don't get freezer burn). I've only just run out of the frozen chillies I harvester last year.

how long do they take to go red and does it make much difference to the hotness/flavour?

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 14:17

Red and White said:
ok ive got tons of chillis now!

but what do i do with them all! dont want them to go to waste and they dont seem to last long once theyve been picked, anyone got any recipes or storage tips?

what varietys?

Dave M · 14 Jul 2009 at 14:21

Red and White said:
how long do they take to go red and does it make much difference to the hotness/flavour?

Depends, had one plant that went straight from green to red, they took about a week, another plant had all sorts, purple, green, yellow, red, orange and although they would change they seemed to go at their own speed (random).

Think it depends on the plant when it is best to pluck them, but I've never noticed any colours being hotter than the others. Red is sweeter though, Green is more, well, green tasting

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 14:24

Red and White said:
how long do they take to go red and does it make much difference to the hotness/flavour?

Totally depends on variety google the ones you have or post here. And you should be able to find out what is recommended.

Red and White · 14 Jul 2009 at 15:23

will look at packet tonight to see what sort. cant remember off the top of my head. they look like this, except no red ones obviously

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:01

I was at borough market on saturday and picked up some dried crushed chillis.

Chipotle
Mulato
Pasilla

And oh man you have to get some chipotle and smell it. It is so intense extremely smokey with a sweet note. if it tastes half as good as it smells. It'll be unbelievable.

Just making a basic mince with a tomato sauce. with all 3 chillis in, to see what they are like.

Red and White · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:07

the type i am growing is De Cayenne

NickK · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:12

I was going to make a Chilli tonight but instead I changed my mind whilst shopping and so it's going to be red Thai king prawn curry with a green Dorset Naga and noodles washed down with Singha beer

Tomorrow it's Chicken Jalfrezi, then day after it'll be Beef chilli.

NickK · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:14

Red and White said:
the type i am growing is De Cayenne

Cayenne - that'll dry well too. Curries, Mexican etc all have cayenne in.

I got myself a Curry Bible. Unlike many other curry books it has curry recipes from everywhere and not just India.

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:16

All I could find

The plant is treelike and grows up to 3feet tall with a spread of 2ft. It has ovate, smooth green leaves.

Cayennes can be used fresh in salsa and sauces but are commonly used to make chilli-powder by drying and crushing the pods.

The fruit is pendant shaped and can grow up to 8cm long, ripening from green to red. A good chilli for drying and high in vitamins C and A.

But as it says it is usually turned into a powder and I have never seen it in green form.

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:18

NickK said:
I got myself a Curry Bible. Unlike many other curry books it has curry recipes from everywhere and not just India.

ISBN please.

Red and White · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:26

thanks guys. all good stuff.

Glaucus · 14 Jul 2009 at 17:37

umm well that was awesome. Man that is going into some sor of bbq sauce smothered meat dish. when I get the chance.

Chipotle - my new fav chilli..

NickK · 14 Jul 2009 at 18:07

AcidHell2 said:
ISBN please.

"Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible", Madhur Jaffrey, Ebury Press.
ISBN 9780091874155 (works with Amazon)

It's ~350 pages give coverage over India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Kenya, Great Britain, Trinidad, Guyana, Japan and USA.
Recipes include different meats, veggie, rice styles, naans, raitas, chuntey too including pasta based curries (noodles etc).
It also gives a little summary of the background of the curry too.
Yes it even has "Chicken Tikka Masala" attributed to England!

utajoker · 14 Jul 2009 at 18:26

quick question, do chillies go red on the plant or once picked? ive got a couple that look ready to be picked now but their still green.