Help needed!! The chili plants in my mother's greenhouse still have chilis on them, but they are now drying out. Can I make chili flavoured olive oil [have a couple of nice bottles fronm Lakeland] with these half dry chili, or should I wait till they have completely dry? On the other hand should I have stuck them in the oil earlier in the summer before they began to dry out?
we use both dried and fresh for oil, I would imagine the dried ones will make it a bit hotter..we leave them in for about 6 weeks then strain the oil and use, hope this helps :)
Thanks for the info. Can you leave the chilis in the oil indefinitely or is there a risk that they go mouldy?
ours went a bit slimey so we took them out, anyone else know ?
I'd take the chillis off the plant and dry them out completely before putting them in the oil bottle. The spicy/hot elements you want from the chilli are oil-soluble; any moisture will increase the chance of mould and/or fungus forming (that's when they go slimy). If the chillis were completely dry, they can be left in the oil as long as it lasts (not long in our house) ;)
More on healthy preserving in oil (see tim's link to the Food Safety Centre) at
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,91/topic,319.0
Some people heat the oil and the chillies together before bottling. Haven't tried it myself.
Using fresh ones, I have ended up with the occasional fungal problem. Perhaps a quick blanch would prevent it.
I'd go for the dry approach.
And don't forget chilli Sherry?
OMG! chili SHERRY! Nice one, Tim! ;D
and yep, let them get completely dry...
Here's an interesting one, alleged to come from a Portuguese chef....
"Piri, piri oil.
Sterilised bottle, egg cup of whisky, 6 cloves chopped garlic, 6 tblsp of dried flaked chilli and olive oil to top. Put all this together and over the weeks watch the colour change. the longer you leave the spicier it will be."
(Presumably, as well as adding flavour, the acidity of the whisky also helps counter any nasties developing.)
Might be worth a try :)
Quote from: Barnowl on February 02, 2007, 17:46:36
Here's an interesting one, alleged to come from a Portuguese chef....
"Piri, piri oil.
Should actaully be made with piri piri chilles. Tiny and smell slightly smokey. Also very hot, particuarly the south african variety.
I've used fresh (sliced in half lengthways) & dried (whole) in my chilli oil. Just shove them in and pour on oil. Leave for a few months and then use. Just keep it topped up for as soon as the fresh are exposed to air they will start to degrade and therefore rot. It also means that you have a steady supply of chilli oil - when adding new oil just give it a good stir or long, lazy shake to mix it all up.
I would have thought so but I've been trying without success to get some Piri Piri seeds in order to grow them this season. Do you have a source?
Quote from: Barnowl on February 02, 2007, 18:11:51
I would have thought so but I've been trying without success to get some Piri Piri seeds in order to grow them this season. Do you have a source?
Try the South Devon Chilli Farm www.sdcf.co.uk or is it .com... they've always been very helpful and VERY swift at delivering. Mention Anna Farrow of Farrow & Farrow Deli...
If that fails there's the annual chilli fiesta in August at West Dean College http://www.westdean.org.uk/site/news/index.htm it's been an annual event for years and seems legendary place to go for chili fiends.
Wow - chili oil and chili sherry! I,m off to my mothers to collect those chilis and got them really dry.
Try the South Devon Chilli Farm www.sdcf.co.uk or is it .com... they've always been very helpful and VERY swift at delivering. Mention Anna Farrow of Farrow & Farrow Deli...
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Thanks for the advice bennettsleg. I e-mailed the SDCF last Nov. They were very nice but had not enough piri piri to spare. I'll have another go. West Dean sounds interesting....
Was in the shop on saturday and realised we sell dried piri piri (not in there that often and have mroe than one variety of chilli for sale!) from SDCF @ £2 per pack - I can lift a couple from a pack for you if you're interested.
The question is: does anyone know if growing seeds from dried chillies would work, or are seeds dried in some other way? just worried about supplying chillies with over-cooked (ie: dead) seeds.
The seeds from dried chillis and peppers bought in stores should work fine. I grew my first chillies from seeds harvested from bought dried chillis. As long as they are just dried and not cooked or otherwise preparated.
A friend of mine tried to grow sunflowers from seeds she had bought in a candy store. They were the roasted and salted ones Mediterraneans and children buy for cracking between your teeth and eating the core. She was very surprised that they didn't germinate ::)
Quote from: bennettsleg on February 05, 2007, 11:59:05
Was in the shop on saturday and realised we sell dried piri piri (not in there that often and have mroe than one variety of chilli for sale!) from SDCF @ £2 per pack - I can lift a couple from a pack for you if you're interested.
That would be very kind of you - it's got to be worth a try :)
PM me your address and I'll get it sorted. May take a couple of days but I'll get there in the end! ;D