Peppers by Post - Variety Pictures and Descriptions

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

We only sell what we grow ourselves. This means the products shown here are only available during our 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.

Anyone wishing to buy seed should see www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk; we are selling seed of Dorset Naga, several other chilli and sweet pepper varieties and three of the best tasting cherry tomato varieties we know.

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, and tomatillos, which are not chillies!

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).

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 Ancho are for sale. See www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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 www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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: Ł2.00 per pack

Spanish Fryer This Latin beauty is from Galicia in northwest Spain. The fruit are quite variable in shape and size, but normally are over 7 cm long and 3 cm wide at the shoulders. They mature from a lovely green to a deep red, and are surprisingly hot, especially for such a large pepper. The flesh is thin and dry, making this chilli ideal for frying up with your favourite Indian or Thai dish, or for spicing up fried potatoes and onions. Five fruit per pack. Price: £2.00 per pack. (Seed of Piemento de Padron are for sale. See www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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. See www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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 Early Jalapeño are for sale. See www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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 www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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 www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk)

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.

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) 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: £2.50 per pack.

Tomatillo Also known as Mexican green tomatoes, this vegetable is not a chilli, but is closely related to the Chinese lantern and Cape gooseberry. The round fruit are 2.5 cm or more in diameter and surrounded by a paper-like husk. They are used at the green stage of maturity when they have a fresh, tart taste, and are an important ingredient in Mexican cooking. We sell them in small retail packs of four fruit, but for those serious about their Mexican cooking we also sell them at the wholesale price (but charge the cost of a courier delivery). They keep in the fridge and freeze very well so it is worth ordering large quantities at once. Price: £1.50 per pack. £4.50/kg (very approx. 40 fruit per kilo): but with a fixed delivery cost of £7.00

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.

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

Pepper by Post open day: 31st August (10:am to 4:00pm)

"What's hot, what's not" half day growing and cooking courses: August and September, see www.sowandgrow.biz

Chilli Fiesta: 9th and 10th August, see www.westdean.org.uk

Bridport Food Festival: date to be announced (end June), see www.bridportfoodfestival.org.uk

Cheltenham Food Festival: 20th, 21st and 22nd June, see www.garden-events.com

Tavistock Food Festival: 26th and 27th July 2008, www.tavistockfoodfestival.co.uk

Abergavenny Food Festival: 20th and 21st September 2008, see www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

Kingston College Country Fair: date to be announced (www.kmc.ac.uk)

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