Mike Lyle wrote:
MikeCT wrote:
[...]
Thanks for your reply. Have you tried growing chillies from 'Supermarket'
seeds? Two years ago I collected and germinated seeds from a bottle of
Sainsbury's dried chillies. The five plants grew very well indeed, producing
many fruits, however, not one of them ever turned completely red. I finished
up with chillies of varying colours, red, dark purple and green.
This I found interesting, especially as the chillies in the picture on the
bottle were all a bright red. My chillies also lacked any heat, whereas
those in the bottle were very fiery. Thanks also to Mike Lyle for the Pepper
Sauce recipe, I'll make some this weekend.

Glad the recipe attracted you: I hope you like the result as much as we
do. It has a freshness of smell and flavour that commercial producers
can't hope to provide.

Chilli seeds seem to be difficult to kill. But the British climate is
rarely suitable for the ones you cull from supermarket produce, which
have usually been grown a few thousand carbon-belching food miles away,
so you can expect very variable results. This year I've kept only two
plants, from a Tesco bird's-eye I'd frozen and then found after
dropping it on the floor and stepping on it. I think they came from
Thailand. The plants and their yield were so different that it's hard
to believe they're from the same parent, but both were much slower to
ripen than the seedsmen's varieties, which should be adapted to our
conditions.

Historical note. The 1861 Mrs Beeton already notes the British
attachment to chillies, and mentions "English chillies", which shows
they were grown commonly enough in this country for people to be able
to buy them fresh. Beeton was writing for a privileged class, of
course. How lucky we are!

--
Mike.

Hi

Anyone have a tried and tested pickling recipe for chillies?? I'd love
to pickle whats left of this years crop..any help appreciated..

Thanks

Barbara

www.all-about-tomatoes.com