Smoking chillies...

My chillies are just ripening and I was wondering if the plants can be kept for next year or are they just annuals ?

[Bluepete]

Finally cropped most of the chilis now. I'm making them into sauces to preserve them and so far have done the Aji Lemon which became all colours from yellow, orange, purple green and mixtures of everything. I think it's from pollinating them with the same brush as all the others. The sauce is raw chilli, cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and a dash of salt. Fresh and easy!

The sauce the Aji's make is FIERCELY hot. A real raw, in your face heat with loads of punch! Much hotter than expected and I have about half a litre of the stuff!

Also made today is the first batch of Bih Jolokia sauce. I'm not sure how to describe the flavour of this stuff! Twenty pods made 60ml of sauce. The pods are no more than 1cm long and about five to eight milimeters across. It's the hottest thing I have ever tasted. The endorphin rush is HUGE from just a tiny drop. It's hot, really, really hot with a magnificent flavour. There is so much depth to the taste, it has real flavour as well as the punch of the heat. Did I mention it's a bit hot? There will be enough pods to make another three or four bottles at least!

They look like this.



I have run out of cider vinegar, so will make the others tomorrow if I survive tea which will have some chilli sauce on it!

The Chinese Pots are also now fully ripe, there must be 500 plus on each bush, so I am picking them and drying them in the airing cupboard to make my own chilli powder. Some will get smoked a bit to make some smoky powder.

I had to throw away about six plants, all the numex orange and a couple of other, unknown types. They just wouldn't set fruit, so were a waste of space. They stayed in the garden though and looked very good too! The recent frosts have well and truly done them in, so they are in the bin now.

The greenhouse is now a banana and canna nursery again, all wrapped up in fleece for the winter.

Just need to choose which varieties to grow next year now!

Pete are you selling any of it? Im like a junkie with a habit to feed

[Bluepete]

If I get enough Bih Jolikia made, you can have some!

Thanks for the chillies Pete, they arrived today

[Bluepete]

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! If there's enough Bih Jolokia sauce, expect a Christmas pressy!

Originally Posted by BluePete

If I get enough Bih Jolikia made, you can have some!

So I dont have to go selling packs of Mach3 in the Red Lion?

Bump

[Bluepete]

Bump indeed Sarah!

It's that time of the year folks, get the chilli seeds ordered,

These guys are the best, over 200 varieties of every possible type of chilli you could imagine, from small, window sill ornamentals to 5 foot high jungle plants!

Sow indoors in very early March for good crops this year.

Shall we get a chilli exchange going?

Pete.

PS, still got a litre or more of the hottest sauce I have ever met left! Only a few drops needed to get those endorphins rushing!!

I've already sown mine...