PRESERVING THE CHILLIES
Now we have lots of lovely chillies that we can't eat all at once so what do we do with them?
- Give some away to friends and wait for them to come back and tell you how hot they were.
- Wash, dry and freeze them. They keep well but go soggy when defrosted. To use from frozen, pull off the stalk, then chop while still firm or blend in a food processor.
- Dry them. Only dry the small chillies by laying on a baking tray and roasting on the lowest possible heat for at least 4 hours. Keep checking and turning. When dried (blitz into flakes if desired), keep in an airtight jar. They will last for ages.
- Pickle them. Just pop them into a jar of vinegar. One or two pickled habaneros in a curry will not overpower the dish with vinegar flavour.
Alternatively, blend some with vinegar into a puree.
- Make sauce, which is covered by many websites in the "Ring of Fire", an association of chilli lovers worldwide. (see "USEFUL SITES")
- Ferment some. Just like making wine. Blend 6 pints of tinned tomatoes, approx 30 habaneros, 2lb sugar and bring to the boil. Add chopped garlic if desired. Allow to cool and put into a demijohn, add yeast, airlock, place in a warm posotion such as an airing cupboard and allow to ferment out. It should taste a bit like Tabasco, but if not a bit of fine tuning could improve the flavour somewhat.