Hot up with chillies

The fiery sensation of chillies is caused by capsaicin, a potent chemical that survives both cooking and freezing, but apart from the burning sensation it also triggers the brain to produce endorphins, natural painkillers that along with exercise, orgasm, pain and laughter produce analgesia and promote a sense of well-being.
There is a scale to measure the heat of chillies — the Scoville scale, named after Wibur Sco-ville who in 1912, developed a method for measuring the strength of capsaicin in a given pepper. Nowadays it is done with computers to rate the peppers in units, which indicate parts per million of capsaicin. The Scoville scale begins at zero with the mild sweet peppers, works through jalapenos scoring between 2 500 and 5 000 and peaks somewhere around 1 000 000 at the hotter end of the scale where there is continued competition to breed ever hotter chillies — no doubt virtually inedible!
A friend has become something of a chillie fiend and has given his vegetable garden over to the growing of chillies experimenting with different varieties — and there are a lot — varying in colour, shape, size and flavour — heat aside. A rule of thumb is the smaller the chillie the hotter it is, but that doesn’t always seem to hold true.
Five species of cultivated chili peppers run the gamut from large, sweet peppers, through mild, yellow banana chillies (good for pickling and packing into pita pockets with middle eastern fillings) slim cayenne, fat green jalapenos and hot red devil’s kiss. Local familiars like African birdseye belong to the Capiscum Frutescens family while Capiscum Chinense boasts the hottest chillies — naga, habanero and deceptively mild looking scotch bonnet.
A visit to my friend’s home is always accompanied by an invitation to taste one of his chillie delights — either a fresh one off the bush or one of the many products he makes to preserve them once the season ends. I am learning to be cautious with some of the raw ones, chewing a whole one can leave you breathless and panting — though once the burning wears off and the endorphins kick in everything tastes better!
Chillies add piquancy to food in many cultures. They are used fresh in both their green and ripe form and also preserved in many ways — from simple drying and pickling in vinegar to incorporating into chutneys, jams, and sauces. The heat lives in the seeds and pith and for a milder flavour use the flesh only.
A visit to Mexico some years ago introduced me to moles — Mexican spice mixes whose preparation begins with one or more types of chillies. Other spices and seeds are added — often up to 30 different ingredie-nts — and are sold either as powder or paste. Chicken cooked in chocolate mole became a family favourite and I loved that hitherto unknown combination — echoing the ancient Aztec kingdoms of the South American continent. A dash of chillie brings out the complexity of the chocolate and I used it to good effect in Easter chocolate mousse.
Separate 4 eggs and whisk the whites to stiff peaks with 2 tablespoons caster sugar. Infuse a chopped red chillie in 50g melted butter. Add to 150g of good quality dark chocolate (minimum 75 percent cocoa content) melted slowly over boiling water. Beat the egg yolks and quarter cup caster sugar until pale. Add cooled chocolate and chillie butter to the yolks and then fold in the whites. Leave to set overnight in the fridge. Enjoy!
– g.jeke@yahoo.com