Focus on… Growing chillies

EVOCATIVE, exciting eye-candy – that’s how I’d describe chilli peppers. Plus, eye-watering if you eat the wrong one raw! The heat we taste – measured in Scoville heat units (SHUs) – is due to capsaicinoids, plant chemicals held in the seedcoat.

While milder chillies have a thicker seedcoat (known as the placenta) that protects the seeds from damage, hotter varieties like ‘Naga Viper’ and ‘Trinidad Scorpion’ have a thinner yet capsaicin-packed placenta. This protects the seed from rots as well as mammalian predators via its antimicrobial activity – and the fact that it tastes foul!

“The thinner the seedcoat, the hotter the taste!”

Some folk get a buzz from the ‘feelgood’ endorphins produced in response to the painful heat (the oils in full-fat milk or yoghurt dissolve capsaicin;