"chili peppers" news and stories

Bushels of chiles. Photo: alex.lines, Flickr.

• In Central Texas, pepper season peaks with spicy bites like poblanos and green chiles -- plus vodka, soup and quick-fix recipes.
• Austin Cake Ball is making a splash with their unique round and tasty confections.
• Austin winemaker Ross Outon survives the first round of PBS vino-centric reality show, "The Winemakers."
• Food Matters looks into chicken-friendly recycling, the Alamo's new diner/bowling alley/karaoke bar, in-season veggies, Cake Wrecks, openings and closings and food/drink briefs.
• Bacon is not the only goodness that comes from the wildly diverse pork belly.

Photo: nicisme, Flickr.

As delicate a fruit as it appears photographed above, the red chili is a fiery ingredient that adds heaps of heat with just a few potent morsels. Domesticated thousands of years ago in South-of-the-Border cooking, the chili is now starting to make an appearance in sweet dishes and drinks in trendy restaurants and bars across the country.

In some of our favorite examples, Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza serves a tequila cocktail with smoked salt and candied chili; the Food Network created a Habanero Lime Cheesecake; and Ice Cream Ireland has posted a recipe for Candied Chili Peppers. We think the pepper is an exciting ingredient for everything from the infusion of spirits to adding kick to salsas, dressings, desserts, etc. Leave us comments letting us know where -- and in what dishes -- you've encountered them!

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On Saturdays, when you enter the bright colored 17th-century colonial town of San Angel, a suburb of Mexico City, there is an outdoor crafts market in the Plaza San Jacinto. Not only can you find a large selection of handicrafts, but you will also see vendors selling rich sweet candied fruits and fresh fruits with chili seasonings. The highlight of any culinary trip to San Angel is the enclosed food market just around the corner from the square.

Upon entering this market, you'll notice the aroma of fresh tacos and the smell of salty pork rinds being fried and seasoned with chili pepper. Taquerias and butchers border the market. The middle is full of poultry stands, produce vendors, and incredible vendors of chilies and moles.

I highly suggest checking out Don Felix for all things related to chilies and moles. If you speak and understand Spanish, I encourage you to talk with Felix about his different products. I purchased two different kinds of chili peppers: arbol and ancho. He explained that chilies arboles are hotter while the ancho are more mild. Finally, he explained how to prepare them in making salsas and other Mexican dishes. His mole almendrado was extremely delicious cooked with chicken. Check out the gallery below and see the market for yourself.

Apparently the world is consuming more chilies. A recent article from the Economist explains that "bland diets of Europe and the Anglosphere" have spent the past 50 years becoming more tolerant towards hotter chilies with the popularity of curries, salsa, and tabasco sauce.

The Economist article mentions the increasing popularity of chilies in nearly every dish from rice and jelly to chocolate. Tesco, Britain's largest supermarket chain, now sells Dorset naga which rates 1.6m units on the Scoville scale, measurement of hotness. Pepper spray used in riot control scores 2m.

Despite this obsession with the heat of the chili, many connoisseurs argue that the level of heat does not define the flavor profile. For them, it's like judging wine based on its alcohol content rather than its quality. These gourmets are more struck by the presence of chili in many more foods than in the past. It could be due to the fact that chilies have a chemical called capsaicin which causes the release of endorphins that create a natural high. In fact, the more chilies you consume, the better this high gets. Also, the Economist explains that capasaicin excites a nerve that makes us more receptive to other flavors.

Sometimes you want to add a little bit of habanero or scotch bonnet flavor to a sauce or salsa, but you're not feeling like white-hot-screaming-plunge-your-face-in-the-snow pain for dinner, thankyouverymuch.

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