Ongrizinal Cecah Cili v2.0

This is another version of cecah cili.

Instead of lime or kasturi for the sourish taste, I use belimbing buluh instead.

Deep Freeze Storing

Long time ago, I came out with this method : freezing of kasturi lime.

When I bought the limau kasturi, usually selonggok tu RM2, but I never able to finish the whole consignment within a short span of time.  Takkan hari-hari air limau, kan?

So I kept the balance of the stock in the freezer.  Whenever I feel like having air limau or cecah cili, or kerabu ikan bilis, I just take some from the freezer.

Does the method compromise the nutritional value?  

I don’t know.   I only want to solve my storage issue.

As time goes by, more and more foodstuff are kept in the freezer.    
Next is the chili.  
The latest is belimbing buluh.

Ongrizinal Cecah Chili v1.0

Cecah cili is chili dipping pounded with a stone mortar ( lesung ).  Often serve fresh with deep-fried food or ulam ( salad ),  and sometimes serve straight from the lesung itself !

 

It is hot and sour, thus very appetizing.  

The ingredient varies.  Here, I use the usual chili, shallot, garlic and sugar.  Plus the special lemongrass and torch-ginger flowerbud and tomato.   Instead of lemon or lime for the sourish taste, I use Chinese vinegar instead. 

Peppers

Black pepper is the drupe fruit of a liana plant Piper nigrum of the Piperaceae family.

P. nigrum is native to India.  Yet it is extensively cultivated in tropical regions.

The word ‘pepper’ is derived from Tamil word ‘pippali’, of which the Latin word ‘piper’ derived.  In Malay language, pepper is referred as ‘lada’ : black pepper – ‘lada hitam’, and white pepper – ‘lada putih’.  The Malay word ‘lada’ too refers to chili pepper. 

It is known as 胡椒 in Mandarin.

Black pepper is produced from drying of green matured drupes of P. nigrum.

White pepper consists only the seed of the pepper, with the skin removed via retting.

Green pepper is green peppercorns treated with special treatment.

Pepper gets its spicy heat from the piperine compound.   

Sichuan pepper is the fruit of mostly Zanthoxylum piperitum, of the Rutaceae family.   Few other species are use as Sichuan pepper as well : Z. piperitum, Z. simulans, and Z. schinifolium.

Zanthoxylum is a genus of some 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, native to warm temperate and subtropical area worldwide. 

The generic name is derived from Greek words ‘xanthos’, which means ‘yellow’ ; and ‘xylon’, which means ‘wood’.  It refers to a yellow dye made from the roots of some of its species.

It is known as 花椒 in Mandarin.

Sichuan pepper gets its special flavour from hydroxyl-α-sanshool.

Chili pepper is the fruits of Capsicum genus, of the Solanaceae family.  There are some 20 – 27 species, 5 of which are domesticated :  C. annum, C. baccatum, C, chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens.

Chili peppers, are short-lived perennial shrubs originated in the New World Americas, spread across the Old World after the Columbian Exchange.

The generic name ‘Capsicum’ is derived from Greek word ‘kapto’, which means ‘to bite’.

The common name varies between countries : capsicum, cabai, chile, chili, chilli, chilli pepper, hot pepper, green pepper, red pepper, bell pepper, lada, paprika, 辣椒 etc.

The chili fruit contains capsaicin, which produce the strong burning sensation.

Chilies



The generic name 'Capsicum' is derived from the Greek word ‘kapto’, meaning ‘to bite’ or ‘to swallow.  

Capsicum consists of approximately 20 – 27 species.  Known species include : C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. buforum, C. campylopodium, C. cardenasii, C. chacoense, C. chinensis, C. cocineum, C. camutum, C. dimorphum, C. dusenii, C. eximium, C. flexuosum, C. frutescens, C. galapogoense, C. geminifolium, C.  hookerianum, C. lanceolatum, C. leptopodum, C. lycianthoides, C. minutiflorum, C. mirabile, C. mositicum, C. parvifolium, C. pubescens, C. rhomboideum, C. schottianum, C. scholnikianum, C. tovarii, and C. villosum.

There are 5 major species of Capsicum cultivated :

Capsicum annuum

Although the species name ‘annum’ means ‘annual’, from the Latin word ‘annus’, it is not an annual plant.  It can grow for several seasons and sometimes into a perennial shrub.

It originated from southern N.America, and northern S.America.

The flowers are white coloured, sometimes purplish.

Known varieties :  Aleppo , Anaheim,  Ancho, Banana pepper, Bell pepper, Cascabel, Cayenne, Chilaca, Chiltepin, Cubanelle, De árbol, Dundicut, Fresno, Guajillo, Hungarian wax, Italian sweet, Jalapeño, Mirasol, Macho, Mulato, New Mexico (Anaheim), Paprika, Pasilla, Peperoncini, Peter, Piquín, Pimento, Poblano,Puya, Serrano, Shishito, Tien Tsin



Chili Kulai



Bell Peppers



Capsicum frutescens

Originated from South America, or Central America.

The flowers are greenish white or greenish yellow.

The fruits typically are small; berries erect; ellipsoid-conical to lanceoloid shaped.

It is usually annuals or short-lived perennials.

Besides grown for human consumption, it is grown for ornamental use for its colourful ripening patterns and large quantities of berries.

Known cultivars & varieties : African Bird's Eye, Bird's Eye chili, Kambuzi pepper, Malagueta, piri-piri, Tabasco, Thai pepper

Thai

Capsicum chinensis

Despite its specific name ‘chinensis’, it is originated in the New World.  Nicolaur Joseph von Jacquin (1727-1817), a Cutch botanist, erroneously named it in 1776 as he believed that it was originated from China.

It is originated from Central America, the Yucatan region, and the Caribbean islands.

Flowers are whitish in colour.

Fruits varies greatly in shape and colour, with red, orange, yellow, and even brown.

Plants are usually perennial.

Known varieties : Adjuma, Ají Limo, Ají dulce, Arriba Saia, Datil, Fatalii, Habanero, Hainan Yellow Lantern Chili, Madame Jeanette, Naga Jolokia, Red Savina Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Trinidad Scorpion, Umbigo de Tainha, Wiri Wiri, 7-Pot,

Capsicum pubescens

The name ‘pubescens’ means hairy, which refers to the hairy leaves of the plant.

It is distinguished from other chili species with its black seeds.

Originated from northeastern South America, and southern Central America.

The plant is a small shrub, sometimes a liana, perennial.

The flowers appear singly or in pairs.  Blue-violet coloured.

C. pubsescens is grown almost exclusively as the Rocoto variety.

Rocoto

Capsicum baccatum

Wild species C. baccatum var. baccatum is most common in Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil.

Flowers are green or golden.

Fruits varies in shape and colour.

Some known varieties are : Ají , Bishop's Crown, Brazilian Starfish, Lemon Drop, Piquanté

Baccatum

references : 

1. http://www.foodsubs.com/

2. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/

World's Hottest Chili 2011 - Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper is the world’s hottest chili pepper.  It is named after Butch Taylor, the owner of  Zydeco Hot Sauce.  The ‘scopion’ refers to its pointed end which resemble a scorpion’s stinger.

Prior the this, the world’s hottest pepper was Naga Viper pepper.  A laboratory test by EML Chem in Melbourne, in March 2011, measured 1,463,700 Scoville scale, hotter than Naga Viper’s 1,382,118 Scoville scale.

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is grown in a farm in Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, by Marcel de Wit, the owner of Chilli Factory in Morisett.

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper is so strong that those who handle it have to wear protective gloves.  Exposure to the eye or near the eye could cause temporary blindness.  While cooking the Butch T, one should wear a chemical mask and a body suit to guard against the fumes.

Capsicum ( chili )

Chili ( also known as pepper, although peppers are more appropriately refer to Piper nigrum, a spice from the family Piperaceae ), or sometime spelled chilli, chile, is fruit of the Capsicum genus of nightshade family, Solanaceae.

Botanically speaking, fruits of chilis are berries. They are used widely in cooking, rather than consumed as a fruit. It is eaten raw or cooked, dried or powdered, as garnish or main ingredient, pickled or marinated, as a spice and at times as a medicine.

Chili originated from Central and South America. Archaeological evidence suggested it was domesticated some 6000 years ago. It was Christopher Columbus, the first European to encounter them in Caribbean, who called them ‘peppers’ because of their similarity in taste with the Old World black peppers. From South America, the Spaniard brought back the ‘peppers’ back to Europe, and subsequently find its way to Asia.

There are some 20 – 27 species of Capsicums. 5 of which are domesticated : Capsicum annum, Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum frutescens, and Capsidum pubescens.

The burning sensation of chilies caused by capsaicin ( methyl vanillyl noenamide). Capsaicin is especially present in large quantities in the placental tissue ( seeds ), although substantial amount also present at the fleshy part of the fruit, depending on the species and variety of the fruit.

The Scoville scale measures the hotness of a chili pepper, as defined by the amount of capsaicin it contains. However Scoville Organoleptic Test is less precise compared to method used by ASTA's ( American Spice Trade Association ) High Performance Liquid Chromatography ( HPLC ).

Scoville Rating of Peppers

Scoville rating	Type of pepper
15,000,000–16,000,000	Pure capsaicin
8,600,000–9,100,000	Various capsaicinoids (e.g. homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)
5,000,000–5,300,000	Law Enforcement Grade pepper spray, FN 303 irritant ammunition
855,000–1,050,000	Naga Jolokia (a.k.a. Ghost pepper )
350,000–580,000	Red Savina Habanero
100,000–350,000	Habanero chili , Scotch Bonnet Peppe , Datil pepper , Rocoto, African Birdseye/Peri-peri, Madame Jeanette, Jamaican Hot Pepper
50,000–100,000	Thai Pepper Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper, Pequin Pepper
30,000–50,000	Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper ,Tabasco pepper, some Chipotle peppers ( smoked Jalapeño ), Cumari pepper
10,000–23,000	Serrano Pepper, some Chipotle peppers
2,500–8,000	Jalapeño Pepper , Guajillo , New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper, Paprika (Hungarian wax pepper)
500–2,500	Anaheim pepper, Poblano, Rocotillo Pepper
100–500	Pimento , Peperoncini
0	No heat, Bell pepper