Ow, ow, ow!

[661-Pete]

I've hardly ever seen genuine Habaneros on sale around here, not even in Asian food shops, although Scotch Bonnets are commonplace - even Tescos have them. But we mostly use the small pointed 'serrano' type - though they can vary a lot.

 

[Kestevan]

http://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk/

Every variety of spicy goodness you could wish for, only 1 mouse click away

 

[Arch]

was it 'dave's insanity sauce'? i had some of that; it could melt it's way through polystyrene

No. Apparently, it was hotter than that.... They had a bottle of that out on the sauces table, this stuff was kept behind the bar.

Well, seems ok today. Bear in mind that I'm a bit of a wimp at chilli, so what was to me very hot is probably nothing to you guys.

Maz - the 'cocoa lassi' was just Sainsburys chocolate milk....

I don't really get the heat thing. I like to be able to taste food, and not be in pain. Interestingly when I was in Mexico, there was no problem, because they tend to serve the hot sauce on the side and you add just what you want, whereas over here, if you go out for Mexican, the heat is all in the meat and stuff.

 

[Norm]

I don't really get the heat thing. I like to be able to taste food, and not be in pain.

And that, right there, is the difference between good hot food and bad hot food. Chilli, or whatever spices are used, should be there to add flavour, not to cause pain.

Have you ever tried chilli chocolate, Arch? numnumnumnum

 

[Amheirchion]

I reckon, time for Frank The Chilli Taster to get another airing!

Honestly, what's this with wanting to get at the hottest possible scoville rating? In a decent dish you should be able to savour the chillis for what they are, not just react to the capsaicin burning! Ah, never mind....

Arch, try using fresh chillis for a change - I'm sure Sainsbury's have them. Thing about fresh chillis is, they're more unpredictable and variable in strength, so you could be in for the occasional surprise. All adds to the fun!

I tend to use fresh chillies in most of my cooking when possible, however my lady doesn't like food as hot as I do, so I have to be careful. So when I chop the chillies I always cut a small bit off to taste raw, which gives me a good idea of how hot they are and how many (much) to use.

 

[661-Pete]

It's possible to make a perfectly good chilli condiment from fresh chillis. My rule is, leave the seeds in if you're going to cook them, scrape them out if you're using chillis raw (there are a few recipes!). And remember that with most chillis it's the number you use that determines the hotness, not the weight.

I'm not saying we scorn chilli powder, but in our house it's kept as the reserve - say if we've run out of fresh and the shops are shut... Also to 'adjust' a dish close to the end of cooking, if it tastes too mild. Of course, the other way around, if you've cooked it too hot, no power on Earth will come to your aid!

 

[Arch]

And that, right there, is the difference between good hot food and bad hot food. Chilli, or whatever spices are used, should be there to add flavour, not to cause pain.

Have you ever tried chilli chocolate, Arch? numnumnumnum

Yeah, a little bit. Not sure it wowed me. I think it was pretty dark stuff, and actually, I'm a bit of a pleb with chocolate, I'm not so keen on the very dark stuff. I've heard of adding chocolate/cocoa to a chilli con carne too.

 

[Norm]

Yeah, a little bit. Not sure it wowed me. I think it was pretty dark stuff, and actually, I'm a bit of a pleb with chocolate, I'm not so keen on the very dark stuff. I've heard of adding chocolate/cocoa to a chilli con carne too.

I don't usually favour dark chocolate either (give me Galaxy over your designer stuff any day ) but the chilli does work well to bring out the chocciness of it, much like putting pepper on strawberries.