So The Boss’s chilli haul over the weekend was only of passing interest to me and any impression I may give to the contrary is only because I’m happy when he’s happy.
If it was a pot full of his tomatoes my senses would be more activated. He has to grow his tomatoes and strawberries inside the cage because they are vulnerable to a sneaky hound like myself, as well as to the wrens, the firetails and the silvereyes.
You have to give it those silvereyes: however hard The Boss tries to block gaps in the wire they find a way in, although they’re not so adept at getting out: it’s good fun watching him clapping his hands, cursing and running around the raised beds to chase them out. I could help - but I don’t.
But back to the chilli – which he can grow outside the cage - and its hard lessons. A few weeks ago The Boss picked the first of the cayennes and left them on a bench in the shed to dry. Some mice hopped into a few while he was away and they came to a very miserable end.
Chillis can kill more than mice. The Boss says the world's second hottest chilli, the Dragons Breath, was accidentally discovered by a Welsh farmer and it is so hot that experts claim that anyone eating a whole chilli would be at risk of death from anaphylactic shock.
For a while, the world's hottest chilli ever known was grown right here in Australia by Marcel de Wit, co-owner of The Chilli Factory on the NSW Central Coast. It’s called the Trinidad Scorpion Butch Taylor, which is a long name for a chilli.
It made headlines in 2011 when laboratory tests measured its heat at 1,463,700 Scoville Heat Units, a measure named after the American Wilbur Scoville, who came up with it.
For comparison, the common green Jalapeno measures between 2500 and 5000 SHUs.
Currently the official record for the hottest chilli goes to American Ed Curry’s Carolina Reaper - although Ed now claims he’s developed the Pepper X, measuring 3.18 million SHUs.
The Boss says capsaicin, the active ingredient in chillis that causes the heat, is used in the capsicum spray some police forces have to subdue unruly people, causing tears, pain and temporary blindness.
People often take the seeds out of a chilli thinking they are the hottest part - but it’s the pale ribs behind the seeds that hold the real heat.
He reckons the origins of chilli are disputed, but it was Christopher Columbus who first brought it to Europe from the West Indies, and the Portuguese who first saw its potential in cuisine and took it to its colonies.
These days, vast amounts of chilli are grown in India, China, Southeast Asia and Africa, as well as South America. There are more than 400 varieties and they have acknowledged health benefits, including uses in clearing congestion, weight loss and controlling blood sugar levels.
The Boss tells me it is also full of fibre and protein, packed with vitamin C, can boost the immune system and elevate endorphin and serotonin levels. I’m so happy for him. Woof!
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