How to cook Chillies

The seeds and white pith inside a chilli is where most of the heat is contained, so halve lengthways and scrape out the seeds and membrane if you’d like a gentler hum of spice. If you don’t know how hot a chilli is, cut a tiny bit off the end and do a taste test.

WATCH: How to make chilli sauce

READ: The big veggie chilli cook-off

WHAT ARE CHILLIES?

There are thousands of varieties of chilli, ranging in colour, shape and size. You can find red, green, yellow, purple or even jet-black chillies! Smaller chillies are often the hottest – so beware. Capsaicin is the chemical compound that makes chillies taste hot. A special unit of measurement called Scoville Heat Units (SHU) is used to measure the heat of different varieties. Chillies originated in Central and Latin America, before spreading via trade routes around the world. In India, for example, pepper was used to spice food before they discovered chillies.

WHEN ARE CHILLIES IN SEASON?

Chillies are available throughout the year.

HOW TO STORE CHILLIES

Freeze leftover chillies that are on the turn, then finely grate over dishes or straight into your cooking to give them a kick – genius!

What are the health benefits?

80g of fresh chillies counts as one of your 5-a-day, but that's quite a lot to eat in one go! They're also a good source of vitamin C, potassium and vitamin B6.