Chillies

All chillies are of the genus capsicum, therefore relatives of sweet peppers. Their vast diversity makes the subject confusing and there is no way to tell how hot chillies are just by looking at them. The usual colour thing of red being hot and green cool does not apply either. Chillies vary in size, appearance and intensity. As a general rule, the smaller they are – like the deceptively innocent-looking and tiny Thai green chilli – the more vicious, but this is not a safe way of judging. In this country we tend to think of chillies as being intrinsically of the Far East, but this is inaccurate, since the chile – the same thing but note the Spanish spelling – originated in Mexico and made the journey to India and China via Africa.