The simple ways to grow yourself some really flavoursome heatFor a true chilli-head like me, it’s so exciting to see how the selection has absolutely exploded in recent years, from often just a single variety as a novelty, to literally hundreds on offer from across the planet. The nature of catalogues, however, where eye-catching photography is key to the sale, is that often the heavily promoted varieties have been chosen for their photogenic quality – for their quirky shapes and colours – rather than for non-visual characteristics, such as actual good flavour. Indeed, having personally run taste tests on hundreds of chilli varieties over the years, it does seem to me that many have been actively bred exclusively for their ornamental appeal. So if you are looking for amazing flavour, here are three that really stand out from the crowd.Ají limón, meaning “lemon chilli”, is a traditional variety essential to a whole range of Peruvian dishes, which I fell in love with while researching my master’s thesis in rural South America. With a bright, fruity flavour – as the name and intense yellow colour suggest – this variety is indeed surprisingly lemony, somehow providing spice and citrus in equal measure. They really are one of those keystone ingredients whose flavour is simply unsubstitutable. Despite the delicious fruit being incredibly hard to track down in the UK, the seeds are common in catalogues, re-branded under the English name ‘Lemon Drop’. Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Hot stuff: chillies that are easy to grow
