The summer glut has arrived. Any hotheads out there or chilli afficionados that would like a small packet of randomly selected fresh chillies posted to you for your sensory pleasure, give me a heads up. At present I have lots of Capsicum Annuum, C Baccatum, and C. Chinense in excess, but no C. Frutescens or C. Pubescens. Varieties include various Aji ( Amarillo, Roho, Norteno) from S. America, various Habaneros ex S. America & Carribbean, Thai of differing lengths & strengths, Tepin Tarahumara, De Arbol and some more unusual odds & sods. https://photos.permaculture.org.au/albums/userpics/11714/thumb_a_selection_of_chillies.jpg Warning to novices :!: : Chillies are hot. Burny-burny. Use at own risk. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Hi Hamish, Would love some of your chillis - all mine suffered this year, except the long living suppposedly 'mild' jalepenos which is confusing itself with a birds-eye!! Many thanks! Kath
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Kath, Consider it done. I've sent you a PM (private message). Enjoy. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies A personal thank you to you Hamishmac.. the most incredible chilli combo - but... how to tell the heat/capascaniod scale from unknown varietals? Well, would advise not to play the 'you bite a bit, then I bite a bit' game with one's partner. Very unwise! MORE unwise is then to think - mmm, must just have a scratch... of my bum... again, EXcEEdingly bad idea. and its not like I've not learnt these lessons previously!!! Now I consider this, i don't think much thought was invovled.. & thats why all the ladies on TV tell you to wear latex surgical gloves while cutting chllis. my question is, what if you forget to take those off before steps 2 and 3? BB X
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Sheesh! Flattery will get you anywhere. Heat Levels in an unknown varietal. In the past, when giving away chillies, I've found that at work, or at the monthly permie meeting, some folk say "Can I have the mild ones please. I don't like it too hot," and others say "I like 'em real hot, gimme the paint strippers." Fast forward till you next meet..."Are you trying to kill me, I said mild", or "When I said hot, did you think I was some kind of wuss? I meant hot. Couldn't even taste any heat in the ones you gave me." I'll add a rough marks out of ten heat scale to the list if you like. If I can find them I'll add the SHU number range for that variety. Wilbur Scoville devised the Scoville Heat Unit scale in 1912, based on the dilution at which it was still possible to detect/ taste heat of the extract of each variety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville My personal method. Since most of the capsaicin is found in the placental membrane & seeds, I cut the very tip of the tip off then sample the cut edge with tip of tongue. If that is OK cut off a bit more etc. Some are fine & mild till you hit the seeds. Then you know when preparing stuff with that variety to slice and scrape out placenta & seeds first. However deseeding involves a lot of messing around and as you've found in your second question, the risk of getting Hunan Hand /Chilli Willy/ Jalapeno Eye https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7741356 There are tips for getting rid of it at The Chileman's site (a great site with a fantastic database) https://www.thechileman.org/guide_heat.php Even though you're meant to wear gloves they're not foolproof. I remember slicing & deseeding about 300 chillies for an experiment in smoke preservation. Wore gloves. Action all outside in the garden. Sliced & diced with reckless abandon. Air was so thick with capsaicinoids that birds and bugs were falling out the sky. Hand felt a bit burny, so washed all the seeds and juice off with gloves still on only to find a tiny hole in glove at base of thumb. Felt quite unwell & miserable for a couple of hours. I now try & chop with the no-touch method. Right hand: knife hand. Only. Left hand: chilli stalk hand. Only. Make sure knife is sharp. Holding chilli by stalk make 3 or 4 longitudinal cuts through chilli, leaving all the bits attached at the base. Rotate chilli 90 degrees round the stalk (twiddle it 1/4 turn). Repeat cuts, now at 90 degrees to first. Now starting at tip (while still holding stalk) slice finely, working way up chilli, till left hand holding stalk & stub, and nice neat pile of chopped chilli on chopping board. Scratch a*se or eye at any time with right hand! And remember folks, keep an emergency bog-roll in the freezer at all times. Lots more chillies to give away if anybody wants some. Unfortunately not to WA, TAS, or fruit-fly exclusion zones. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Very welcome. Since you too are based in the-centre-of-the-known-permie-universe, local pickup & choose your own variety pack may be on. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies all very wise comments! I found a tea-towel soaked in cold milk was effective for topical application...:-O)
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Thanks Hamish what a treat. Had a most enjoyable afternoon tasting chillis ,great range
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Most welcome, Permasculptor. After chatting to you about them I think I might try putting a kilo or so through the blender and steeping the sludge in water for a while, then straining to use as a bug spray. Might smear the sludge here & there to see if it deters the possums from having a party on the verandah every night. Anybody got any decent bug spray recipes involving lots of chilli? Don't want to overdo it and have a scene reminiscent of 'Ghostbusters' as I wander round the block with a WMD. Plenty more chillies if any other takers. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Hi Hamish, Would love some of your chillies. I am trying to grow bhut jolokias but they still very fragile and winter is only a few months away.
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies Hi chili-head, Welcome to the forum. Where about are you? I'd be glad to send you some chillies. I've sent you a PM (private message). There's a thread on chilli growing at https://forums.permaculture.org.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10098&start=0 where you can read some tips, and post your own experiences with Bhut Jolokia. See the news article on the lady from India who just broke world record by eating 51 Ghost Chillies in two minutes? Predicted next news story: "Woman from India breaks world record by drinking ten litres of antacid in two minutes." I'll contact you when I get back from my O/S trip. Hamish
Re: GIVE AWAY: free fresh chillies first post on this site! hi all, would love any chilli seed you can spare, am a chilli addict, & have it nearly every night. i have some chilli seed from last year season, i think, will look soon as i can get time. thanx
