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Growing and packing chillies

Variety pictures and descriptions

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Tel: (01308) 897766 | Ordering Information | Fax: (01308) 897735


We sell fresh chillies grown by ourselves in west Dorset. This means the products shown here are only available during the harvest season, which starts mid to late July and finishes around late November to early December. Every item is sold fresh, posted out the same day they are picked.

We also sell seeds of most of the varieties below. If you want seeds, please go to our website: seaspringseeds.co.uk ; as well as chilli seeds we sell seed of sweet peppers, three of the best tasting cherry tomato varieties we know, many salad varieties and other vegetables and herbs.

 

Varieties on offer


Chillies on order This year we have nine different chillies on offer, all with different flavours, shapes, heat levels, colours, etc. There is also a mixed bag, which could include anything.

 

Poblano, Thai Hot, Spanish Fryer (back row, left to right);
Cherry, Whippet’s Tail, Hungarian Hot Wax, Serrano
(middle row, left to right); Jalapeño, Dorset Naga (front row, left to right).

 


Dorset Naga
This rare chilli was developed by making selections from the Bangladeshi landrace chilli known as Naga Morich. Other names for this landrace include Naga Jolokia and Bhut Jolokia. In common with its relatives, Dorset Naga has a scorching heat of around a 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, making these chillies significantly hotter than any other chilli ever measured. Along with its heat, Dorset Naga is backed up by a powerful aroma that imbibes any dish with a wonderful, distinctively fruity flavour. The fruit are roughly cone shaped, and about 2 cm wide at the shoulders and up to 4 cm long, though they can be smaller. Naga are traditionally used green, but we sell Dorset Naga at both green and red stages. Warning: this chilli is extremely hot; please use with the greatest caution.
Under no circumstances should one of these chillies be left where an unwitting person, especially a child, might handle them.
Six fruit per pack (or more if they are small).

Price: £2.00 per pack.

(Seed of Dorset Naga are for sale. See seaspringseeds.co.uk)

 

   Naga


Whippet’s Tail
With narrow, pointed fruit up to 30 cm long, this extraordinary chilli is one of the longest we’ve ever grown. A thin flesh and a medium heat level make it ideal for adding to curries or cutting into small rings for pizza toppings. We also like to cold smoke the fruit before drying them down for winter use. Chillies will be sent out either green or red. Note: lengths may vary. Five fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack.

 

(Seed of Joe's Long Cayenne are for sale. See See seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Whippet’s Tail


Mild(ish) Habanero
This unusual habanero turns down the heat while retaining the enticingly fruity flavour so characteristic of other habanero and Scotch Bonnet chilli types. It adds a unique twist to fruit sorbets and ice creams, and is brilliant at spicing up home-made tomato ketchup. One word of caution: although mild for a habanero the fruit are unpredictable and while normally very mild can be quite hot. Nevertheless, the wonderful flavour always comes through without the overwhelming habanero heat. The fruit are variable in shape and size, but are roughly 5 cm by 2.5 cm. They start lime green, ripening to a red. Six fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack
  


Serrano
This Mexican beauty is commonly used in salsas such as the avocado-based guacamole, pico de gallo and the exotic salsa de tomate verde. Thick, firm fleshed, our variety sometimes approaching 8 cm in length at the beginning of the season (shorter in the later months), which is the longest serrano we have ever seen. Traditionally eaten green, we sell the chillies at both the green and red stage. Heat level: 22,000SHU (unripe, whole fruit). Eight to ten fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack.

 

 

  


Hungarian Hot Wax
One of our favourites, this chilli is mildly hot, up to 12 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, with light green/yellow fruit maturing to a golden orange, then red. The fruit are firm fleshed and with a straight forward flavour are highly recommended for their culinary versatility. Try them for frying, stuffing, using raw in a tossed salad or making into a roast pepper salad. Four fruit per pack.  Price: £2.00 per pack.

 

(Seed of Hungarian Hot Wax are for sale at seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Hungarian Hot Wax


Jalapeño
These chillies are torpedo-shaped, thick-fleshed and hot. We grow a variety that produces extra large fruit (up to 7 cm long) that develop a cork-like netting on their surface, a trait highly prized by Mexican cooks. They can be used in salsas and corn bread, or sliced into rings for nachos and pizza toppings. Five fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack. 

(Seed of three types of Jalapeño are for sale at seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Jalapeño

Cherry
The almost round fruit are hot, 2.5 cm in diameter and smooth, with a firm, thick flesh. The chillies are only sold ripe, when they are a rich, deep red. They are excellent in salads and pickles, and are the Rolls Royce of stuffing chillies. Their skins are a bit tough, but are easily peeled off. Five fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack.

(Seed of Cherry Bomb are for sale at seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Cherry


Poblano/Ancho
Could this be the best flavoured chilli on earth?  Its rich, mild flavour certainly makes it stand out from other peppers, and we can’t recommend it highly enough. The thick fleshed fruit are enormous – up to 15 cm long and 8 cm wide. After roasting and peeling, they are ideal for stuffing or adding to salads. Three fruit per pack – or possibly more later in the season, when the fruit tend to be smaller.

Price: £2.50 per pack.

 

(Seed of Poblano are for sale at seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Poblano/Ancho


Thai Hot
These small, 1 cm long chillies are hot and for the stout-hearted only. Try adding them whole to stir fries for a real heat-packed dish. Alternatively, they are delicious when added whole to pickles or chutneys. The fruit are so small they are sold on their branches. Minimum 40 fruit per pack.

Price: £2.00 per pack.

   Thai Hot


Mixed Chilli Bag
In our quest for the perfect chilli, we trial a wide range of new varieties each year. These are the chillies that, along with our old favourites, go into the mixed chilli bag. Given the number of varieties to choose from, each bag may be different, but all will contain an intriguing assortment of fruit. Please note that some (or possibly all or none) of the fruit in a bag may be mouth burning. The only way to find out the heat level of each individual chilli is to taste it, so please order this bag only if you are experienced in dealing with chillies.

Price: £3.00 per pack.

(Seed of the habanero collection is for sale at seaspringseeds.co.uk)

   Mixed Chilli Bag


 

  





Potted Chilli Plants
Attractive chilli plants grown in 5 inch pots. Chosen for their looks as much as their culinary use these plants can be kept in any conservatory or on any sunny window sill as an ornamental, while the chilli fruit can be picked off for cooking. (Seed of NuMex Twilight - see opposite - is for sale. See seaspringseeds.co.uk)

Not sold by mail order these plants will be sold at our open day and from our stall at events we attend over the summer months.

Pepper by Post open day: 23rd August (10:30am to 4:00pm)

See home page for the list of shows we will be attending.

 

 

 

   Tomatillo growing

Tel: (01308) 897766 | Ordering Information | Fax: (01308) 897735