Chillies were first cultivated in the Valley of Mexico about 9,000 years ago. Their name in Nahuatl (language of region), was chilli and this term was applied to all members of the group which belong to the capsicum family.
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Despite their antiquity, the capsicum remained a well kept secret of the “New World” until Christopher Columbus introduced it to Europe during the 15th century.
There are hundreds of chilli varieties – 150 alone in Mexico – ranging in pungency from sweet to fiery hot. Rich in Vitamin C, chillies contain a volatile oil, capsaicin, which is the source of their piquancy and found in the seeds and ribs of the pepper.
Green chillies are no less hot than red, in fact their pungency is about the same. What does differ is their sweetness, green has a slightly bitter flavour.
For this tomato sweet chilli jam I suggest removing seeds and ribs to give a milder flavour but if you wish to spice it up – leave them in.
TOMATO SWEET CHILLI JAM
This rich, spicy tomato condiment gives lovely Asian flavours to marinades, salad dressing, rice, couscous and pasta.
600g ripe tomatoes
1 large red pepper (300g) – remove seeds – roughly chop
4 fresh, red chillies – 10-12cm long, deseeded – roughly chop
4 large cloves garlic – roughly chop
1 tbsp fresh ginger – roughly chop
2 tbsp fish sauce
1¼ cups white sugar
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ tspn each salt and ground pepper
Plunge tomatoes into boiling water. Skins will slip off easily. Roughly chop. Place tomatoes, red pepper, chillies, garlic, ginger and fish sauce into a processor. Puree. Into a large saucepan, pour in puree (approx 4 cups), sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce temperature. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes or until thick and pulpy. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Using a jug, pour into warm, sterilised jars. Seal. Makes 3 small jars. Once opened store in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Did you know.......
There is an official heat scale known as The Scoville scale, developed by Wilbur Scoville, an American pharmacist, in 1912. The lowest being 0 to Jalapeno chilli which scores anywhere between 2,500-10,000. Now that's fiery !
Happy Cooking!
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