Cath Kerry-Food
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Carolina Reaper, anyone?

10/3/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
It's been a strange year in the suburban home garden.  Honey yield in the state is reported as 85% down on previous years.  That's a worry for a start. The avocado tree, the pride of the garden, will not offer anything this year; small fruit was blown away in several storms and then the heat polished off the rest. Nashi pears are not too bad, tomatoes, woeful although those that made it were superb.  

Any excess is with the figs and something we don't use much, chillies.  Oh, they are handsome, robust, plentiful and handsome. The punnet of three assorted seedlings was a mistake as we're not sure what we have. A brief tasting with our Bhutanese garden helper identified "birds-eye" (very hot), long and thin (hot) and cute and chubby (benign). I urged her to take away as many birds-eyes as possible.

The heat of a chilli was "codified" by Wilbur Scoville, an American,  in 1912.  The pungent heat comes from  capsaicin and is measured in SHUs (Scoville Heat Units).
To illustrate, your basic red or green capsicum is at zero SHUs whereas Police Grade capsicum spray is around 16,000,000 SHUs.

​Some approximate SHUs
Espelette                  1,000                 Poblano                    1,000
Jalapeño                   3,500                Serrano                    15,000
Cayenne                   30,000             Tabasco                    30,000
Scotch Bonnet       150,000             Habanero                300,00


At left, the Carolina Reaper, the world's hottest chilli as of 2019. It's the result of selective breeding and world record holder since 2013. It comes in at a whopping 2,200,000 SHUs! Check YouTube for blokes (yes, sorry,  it is mainly men) who sit around with other blokes and suffer, cry, groan, and writhe, the huge dose of capsaicin tearing through the delicate tissue of their innards.  (Then, they do it again.) The following day must be terrifying. Seeds are probably available online but you have to to admit it's one hell of an evil looking dude!

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My chillies (in a Tunisian couscous bowl) from the top and clockwise...
Birds-eye, I think - very hot, next, long & thin - hot, finally, plump and fruity and totally benign.  (Can you identify?)
​
The heat thing  is something I simply don't understand. I want flavour and a "small" kick. Too much is just not gastronomically delicious.  There, I've said it. Anyway, in the interest of using up some produce, today I make a fig and chilli chutney.  I use a tried and true fig jam recipe and simply add a fair amount of fresh garlic and some chillies. The result is not too bad.

I'll now give myself heartsease and make a cake.

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5 Comments
Stephanie
11/3/2019 10:21:13 pm

Cath, I agree entirely regarding the incomprehensibility of adding heat to food just to test our ability to survive it. It's not always safe to indulge in such competitive consumption. Years ago, in my radio days, I filled in as host for a news show. The producer wanted me to do a story about a new store that sold peppers in all forms. In my ignorance and for the sake of thorough reporting, I agreed to eat whatever was presented to me. I hadn't researched well beforehand and trusted the store's owner not to try to kill me. He put an entire pickled habanero pepper on a spoon and gave it to me to put in my mouth. We had to stop the interview. My central nervous system went haywire. For a while my hearing disappeared and I was generally disoriented. I was scheduled to work an on-air shift that evening, and had to lie down between every announcement.

So sorry to hear about your avocado tree and what its lack of fruit represents. I have a photo of it from our visit to you; every time I have looked at the photo, I have thought of the remarkable generosity of Adelaide gardens. I don't like the new reality, which we are experiencing here as well in a different way.

Enjoy your blog thoroughly!

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Cath Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:48:57 am

I have re-told this story now many times! Atrocious!

Interesting (but scary) that we all experiencing changes in growing and farming, but in different ways.

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Kym
17/3/2019 07:55:00 pm

It was several years that I saw a Scoville chart. I was absolutely amazed what it went up to, particularly when I thought I was a big deal being able to eat a pizza with a few Jalapenos.
Have you ever been to Shankers Indian restaurant on Prospect Road? I rate it on a par with the Indian Spice Kitchen.
About 12 years ago Shankers was in a very small premises on Main North Road, not far from Regency Road. Their menu rated the heat of their curry dishes on a scale from 1 to 5. There was the provision to take this unto 10 but you had to be personally known to the owner before you were able to order a dish at this level.

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Cath Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:52:58 am

Yes, it'a shame there is not more "notice" around chillies, perhaps like alcohol content of wines and spirits. This would help not only in restaurants where chilli is important but in greengrocers. I have little idea of what I'm buying. I'm in the dark and think naïvely the larger, the least painful.

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Cyrus
4/4/2019 09:03:32 pm

Nice blog post Catherine!

I started waiting tables at my local Indian restaurant (Bombay Sizzlers) late January this year. Their spice heat scale is as follows:

- very mild
- mild
- medium
- hot
- very hot
- very very hot

Prior to my employment here a bunch of my housemates and I would take advantage of their lunch special and I would go mild and enjoy the food for what it was and most individuals around me would go very very hot and say, "that's nothing!".

Anyway, after I was blessed with holy access to the, "staff meal", I gradually ate the curry hotter and hotter with each meal.

I must say there were times when I writhed in pain, sitting on the toilet the next day, however, the sensation of hot spice coursing down your insides is unlike any other! It's as if there was an electric blanket cuddling me on the inside.

Regards, Cyrus

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