All about chilli, how cooks use it, and a recipe that makes the most of the hot spice
Chilli is a spicy spice, but how hot it is depends on the cultivar – some types are mild, while others can burn on contact with the skin.
They also differ in spiciness according to the conditions in which the plant has been grown, how ripe the chilli fruit is when it is harvested and whether the hottest parts of the chilli are used.
Dried chilli is much hotter than fresh because the flavour is concentrated.
Chilli is used in
sauces and
pastes , where it is almost always mixed with other ingredients to help balance the spice level and give them a fuller, more complex flavour.
How hot chilli spice is depends on various factors, including how ripe the fruit is when harvested. Photo: Shutterstock
Some cultivars are so hot that you do not even need to come into contact with the chilli – just smelling it can burn, as the capsaicin aromas irritate the mucous membranes.
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