In Season Vegetable for January 2009 – Fresh Chillies.
Although all chilli peppers are hot, some are hotter than others. As a general rule, the smaller the pepper, the darker the colour, the more pointed the top and narrower the shoulders the hotter it will be – although there are quite a few exceptions. Chillies are rated according to their relative heat. To alleviate the effects of really hot chillies use yogurt or cucumber. New Zealand, over the years, has been growing more and more fresh chillies. As eating habits in this country have also leaned the more “exotic and spicy way” for a bit of variation throughout your week, the demand for fresh chillies has therefore increased. And at the end of the day…fresh is best.
Chilli peppers are related to the sweet pepper. There are literally hundreds of varieties of chilli peppers. Some are definitely more suited to particular end uses than others. If using them raw it is essential to select a variety which doesn’t have a tough skin. It is quite normal for many chillies to change colour as they ripen and the colour transition is often green to black/brown to red. The intensity of the heat also increases as the chilli ripens. For most people chillies are eaten only in small quantities so is more important for their taste than nutritional value, although I have heard for us blokes down yonder, they’re good tucker to have in our meals every now and then. You can buy chillies all year round but their main season is from January until April.
Several varieties of fresh chillies are as follows. The “Dutch Red” chilli looks very attractive but has a rather leathery texture. It is best dried, plaited or used in sauces or curry pastes. The “New Mexican Anaheim” is a mild flavoured, large chilli pepper which naturally ripens green to black/brown to red. It is quite often stuffed when green or black/brown. When red it is often used for decorative purposes or used in sauces or pastes. The “Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot” is a very attractive large long chilli. It is very mild and is picked when a green/yellow colour. It is ideal to use raw in salads, added to sir-fries or it can be pickled. If left to ripen it goes orange and becomes very hot. A banana chilli is similar to this. “Jalapeno” chillies are cylindrical in shape with a blunt point and are available in green and red. Green jalapeno is most commonly used raw sliced on nachos or in a salsa. Red jalapeno has tough skin and is best not used raw but rather in sauces, pickles or dried.
“South American Yellow” is a very attractive medium sized, dark yellow chilli pepper which is good used raw or cooked. It ranges in taste from medium sweet, ideal for use with chicken, to hot, which is particularly good in meat dishes. The two most commonly “Cayenne Peppers” found in New Zealand are the Asian cayenne pepper which is green or the Mexican pepper which is red. Both of these are ideal used in a chilli and curry pastes, and the red is good in sauces. The skins, which are often quite thick, are too tough when raw. Exotic chillies such as “Thai” or “Bird’s Eye Hots” are preferred in many Asian dishes and tend to be rather hot. They are a small long thin chilli and are available either red or green. They are very versatile and may be used either raw or cooked. The “Haberno (Scotch Bonnet)” is a Mexican chilli which is a very attractive, lantern shaped, light green to orange coloured pod. It is extremely hot with an aromatic fruity flavour. Haberno is said to be the hottest chilli grown commercially. I tried my first one last season, and have no problem with food being spicy, but heck…this little fella packed a punch alright. Even half a one chopped up into a million pieces made my eyes water during cooking. It was fun all the same though.
Chilli peppers, which come in a range of sizes, shapes, colours and heat levels, contain the antioxidant vitamins A (beta-carotene), C and E, plus folic acid and potassium. They are, therefore, good for general health and for protecting the heart. Countless healing properties have been attributed to chillies, but many claims have yet to be validated. What is known is that capsaicin, which accounts for the ‘heat’ of chillies, can help prevent dangerous blood clots and help with weight loss, as capsaicin both suppresses the appetite and helps to boost metabolism. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a link between capsaicin-rich diets and reduced death rates from cancer. Researches from Australia shows chillies have an effect on insulin so are good for regulating blood sugar levels.
In Season Fruit for January 2009 – Fresh Plums.
The genealogy of the plum reveals a family tree with branches in nearly every land. There are more than 2,000 varieties and for as many years it has pleased the palates of princes and paupers. It is a true stone fruit, or drupe, a cousin of the almond, cherry, peach and apricot. It comes in colours to complement what ever your décor…red, purple, blue, yellow, green, dappled, bronze.
There is reference to the fruit in the ancient writings of Damascus – hence the damson, a cultivated plum introduced into ancient Rome. The European plum probably had its origin in the Caucasian region of the Caspian. The Pilgrims found American Indians cultivating a native plum along with maize and tobacco.
They are prized by the diet-conscious because of their low-calorie, low-sodium, no-fat quality as well as their abundant vitamin and mineral content. Popular seasonings for plums are all spice, sage, cinnamon and ginger. Traditional plum jam is an international favourite but try them baked with a lamb roast or wrapped in bacon and grilled. Fresh plums have high levels of vitamin A and a fair quantity of vitamin C. Low in calories and sodium and contain calcium, potassium, phosphorous.
It is great to see more and more retailers become enlightened to the desirability of displaying fruit under variety names and several varieties still grown include the following. Red Beauty is early to mid-December with excellent flavour and firm when ripe. Wilson’s Early is December with good flavour and yellow flesh. Duffs, a mid to late December has a dark red skin colour, yellow flesh, and good flavour. Santa Rosa, with a similar time frame, has red skin and an aromatic flavour. Burbank is also available at this time with fair flavour and yellow flesh. Billington, which goes from mid-December to early January, has red skin, good flavour, and red flesh. Shiro, going from late December to mid January, has yellow skin, good flavour, and red flesh.
Moving into January, when plums really start to hit their straps, there are another 4 coming on in mid-January to the end of the month. Mariposa has red skin, good flavour, and red flesh. Sultan has red flesh, soft and juicy, and good flavour. Purple King is a favourite, with excellent flavour and yellow flesh. And Red Doris, which is yellow flesh and good flavour. This is actually followed by the Black Doris, which creeps into February, and this too also has good flavour, its freestone, with a dark red flesh, and is a good bottler.
As we move into plums that carry through into February, you still get varieties which peak in taste at this time, however the season is well into its second half for its best offerings. One particular variety which happens to be my favourite, but more on that later when we talk about the best Omega grower in the country in my opinion a little later on, starts mid-late January and into February. It is the Omega (George Washington) and has excellent flavour with dark red juicy flesh. The Greengage covers a long period of about 6 weeks, tapering off in mid-February, and it is green skin, good flavour, freestone, and a good keeper. Satsuma appears in late-February with red skin and fair flavour. Victory, at the same time, has red skin, poor flavour, and used for canning. Toriick, is one you don’t see much now, and drifts into March. It has red skin, good flavour, with a nectarine-like appearance.
There are actually many more varieties, so it’s really good to find retailers that display them by name so you can find the ones you like, plus hit the right variety at the right time of its season. A few more big hitters for example are the Rose Zee, Black Amber, Fortune, and the Freedom. There is of course the Pluot too (Flavour King) which is, as you’ve probably guessed, a cross between a plum and an apricot. This piece of fruit even has a slighty furry skin, which is foreign to a plum really, so it’s very unique and very tasty all the same.
Fresh and dried plums (prunes) contain many of the disease-protective phytonutrients that help neutralize the damaging free radicals related to accelerated ageing and DNA degradation. They are also rich in potassium, essential for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function and the growth and repair of lean body tissue. Converting plums into prunes concentrates the nutrients in the dried fruit; prunes are thought to have more than twice the antioxidant power of the ‘superfood’ blueberries. The high fibre content of prunes and a bowel-stimulating chemical called hydroxyphenylisatin account for their laxative qualities and their role in reducing the risk of cancers, particularly of the bowel. The fibre in prunes is good for cholesterol levels, which maintains heart health.
Glenn Forsyth.