Ad Hoc Chilli Mill

Two of our best selling products and our personal favourites are the Ad Hoc Chilli Mill

and it's little sister the Voyage Mini Chilli Mill.

We came across the large mill earlier this year and instantly fell in love with it's eye-catching design and innovative technology.

The cutting mechanism has been specifically designed for dried chillies and consists of a series of discs that cuts the chillies, including their seeds, essentially shaving them into rough powder.  Those of you that have ever tried to grind chillies in a traditional pepper or salt mill will know that this is a frustrating task as the oil in the chillies is released when they are crushed, clogging up the mill and creating a soggy mess.  The Ad Hoc Chilli Mill quickly and easily creates a dry powder from any type of dried chilli that can then be used in cooking or sprinkled directly onto food.

The German stainless steel design is beautiful and features an elegant clear chilli-shaped acrylic chamber which provides an aesthetically pleasing view of the chillies inside making the large mill a sophisticated object that will add a touch of class to any kitchen or dining table.  The mill also features a small detachable catching tray beneath the cutting mechanism that captures the shavings should you not want to sprinkle them directly onto food.

Robust, easy to use, easy to clean and easy to fill and refill, the mills come with a 5 year warranty.

If you or someone you know loves your chilli and needs a ready supply of freshly ground chilli powder then this is the ideal product for you.  Any variety of dried chilli can be used in the mill.  You will find a range of dried chillies for sale on our web-site as well as a range of gift sets featuring both the large and small mills and various selections of dried chillies.  Any of these products would make the ideal gift  for the true chilli-lover.

The Voyage Mini Chilli Mill is a smaller version of the Chilli Mill that features the same design technology as the large mill without the chill-shaped acrylic chamber.  This mill is the perfect gift for the chilli-lover that likes to carry their chillies with them for adding to their food wherever they are.  Do you or someone you know always carry their own bottle of hot sauce or pot of crushed chilli with them?  If so, this is the ideal solution.

Do you grow your own chillies and have more than you can use?  Try drying them and using a Chilli Mill to create a steady supply of ground chilli from your own produce

Mansion House Chilli Fiesta

So, yesterday was the Mansion House Chilli Fiesta.  What a great day!  At last the sun was shining.  The setting was perfect and the way the stalls were laid out had the feel of a country fair or village market.  We were right next to the central speaker and spent the whole day working to the sounds of our favourite tunes from the 80's.  We shared our little spot with Tim from the The Cambridge Chilli Farm selling his range of wonderful home-made sauces and preserves including his Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce which had a few people gasping, sweating and even crying by the time they reached us!

On stage. as well as the live rock band, were chilli eating contests and what sounded like air guitar sessions!  Attendance was great.  We were busy all day and the whole atmosphere and feel of the day was fun!  We'd definitely do this one again and will be there next year for sure!

A key lesson learned from our last festival (and first) was to take our own food and drink as there was no time to leave the stall through the day.  We took a little picnic which kept us sustained and when things quietened down a bit later in the afternoon Mike managed to sneak off to do a bit of networking and also to get us a well-deserved pint of cider.

Sales-wise we had a really good day.  We sold more than we did at Eastnor and sold a little of most things.  Our best sellers this time were our Hot Chilli Collection of "Prep and Protect" Kitchen Ware including the Hob Cover , Work Top Protector , Chef's Gauntlet , Oven Gloves and Apron.

Again we got great feedback on our products and our concept and we can't wait till the next one in Northumberland on the 7th and 8th of July, North East Chilli Festival

Mole Poblano

One of our products that sold surprisingly well at the Eastnor Castle Festival was our Chilli Chocolate Sauce.  Many people bought it without really knowing what to do with it but could see immediately on tasting it that it would add a richness and intensity to any stew or casserole.  It is actually a Mole Poblano sauce and is a classic version of the Mexican sauce that forms the basis of the famous dark mole stews from Oxaco in southern Mexico.

Mole is is a generic term that describes both the numerous versions of this sauce and the dishes it is used to create.  Moles come in a variety of flavours and are made with many different ingredients but all contain at least one variety of chilli pepper.  Mole Poblano is a dark brown sauce served over meat, usually chicken or turkey.

There are many legends as to the origins of the Mole the most popular of which tells the story of a group of poor nuns combining all the ingredients they had in their kitchen to prepare a meal for a visiting archbishop and accidentally coming up with a winner.  Another theory is that it was originally developed by the Aztecs.  Mole actually represents the mixed heritage of Mexico combining ingredients from North America, Europe and Africa and has probably simply evolved over time.

Whatever the ingredients the process is similar.  They are generally all roasted and ground to a fine paste or powder using a method that is very labour intensive and can take at least a day to complete.
This paste or powder is then mixed with water and simmered in a heavy cauldron, stirring constantly until it is thick and pungent.  In Mexico it is traditionally served as a sauce for turkey but is also eaten over chicken or even eggs at breakfast.

Mole Poblano is the best known of all the Moles outside Mexico and has even been seen as the National Dish of Mexico.  A Mole Poblano will typically contain up to 20 ingredients including the  "Holy Trinity" of Chillies, the Ancho, Mulato and Pasilla.  The Mulato is a dark chocolate brown pepper with a mild smoky flavour with hints of liquorice and cherries, the Ancho is a very dark red, mild and sweet fruity flavoured chilli and the Passilla similar to the Ancho but brown with a more herby flavour.

Our Mole Poblano combines the Holy Trinity with other spices, onions, tomatoes and dark Belgian chocolate to create a delicious Chilli Chocolate Sauce.  Try it in the traditional way melted and served over turkey or chicken or add a tablespoon to your next Chilli Con Carne.  For a special occasion we recommend adding it to a venison casserole.

Please let us know if you have used it in other ways or have other ideas about how to and feel free to share your recipes with us.

Eastnor Chilli Festival

So, we've done our first ever Chilli Festival at Eastnor Castle on the 6th and 7th of May!
Thanks to all of you who visited our stall and an even bigger thanks to those of you who bought some of our products.  We really enjoyed ourselves and it looked as though the visitors all did too!
It was a really successful weekend and the weather was just about OK.  Although the whole place was waterlogged from the appalling excess of April showers, it just about held out with a dry Sunday and a damp Monday but the bad rain only really kicked in when we were packing up to leave.
For us it was a big learning experience, especially around setting up the stall and displaying our products. We met some of our fellow chilli retailers and some of our own suppliers for the very first time.  We also met the source of the inspiration for the event, David Floyd from the Chile Foundry who wrote a great review of the event.
We were busier than we expected and will make sure we take a picnic with us next time as taking a break for refreshments was almost impossible.
Our best sellers were the Montezuma's Chilli Chocolate and our Holly and the Ivy range of preserves (especially the Scotch Bonnet Jam ) and we are now out of stock of most of these but have another delivery expected this week.
We also sold one or two of most of our other products so overall we were really pleased.
Post-match analysis generated a list of actions which we have been busy implementing in time for our next one on the first weekend in June.

The Somerset Chilli Festival at Bath Racecourse on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June.  We are really looking forward to it!  I won't be there as a I am having a brand new shoulder joint the week before but our son Matt will be helping Mike out.

http://www.somersetchillifest.co.uk/?page=home

The Scoville Scale

In 1912 Wilbur Lincoln Scoville developed a method of measuring the heat of a chilli.   This was officially called the Scoville Organoleptic Test and involved a panel of five volunteers tasting different chillies added as extract in precise amounts into a sugar and water solution.  The point at which the heat of the chilli was no longer detected by the taster determined the rating.  So, if a chilli was no longer detected after dilution 100 times its rating would be 100 Scoville Heat Units or SHU.  If it was diluted 1,000,000 times before it was no longer detected it would be rated 1,000,000 and so on.  However, as you can imagine different people have different tastebuds and the ratings were very subjective.
Nowadays the technique is considerably more refined and scientific but again remains a little imprecise as an individual variety of chilli can have different levels of heat depending on many factors such as weather, soil, genetic composition and many other growing conditions.  For this reason the heat of a chilli is usually presented as a range rather than a single number.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography, HPLC for short, separates capsaicin form the other liquid components in the chilli and calculates this concentration in parts per million.  This unit of measurement is the American Spice Trade Association pungency rating or ASTA.
However, most people still prefer to refer to the Scoville Heat Unit in the UK at least.  To roughly convert the ASTA rating to the SHU we simply multiply by 15.
Pure capsaicin has a generally accepted SHU of around 16,000,000.
So, if capsaicin is our benchmark, how do other well-known chilli peppers rank alongside this?
Well, as you might imagine, the simple sweet pepper has an SHU of 0 and jalapeño an SHU of between 2000-5000.  The Cayenne pepper comes in at 30,000-50,000 and the Scotch Bonnet at 100,000-300,000.
The quest to grow the hottest chilli in the world is a fast moving story.  In 1994 the Californian Red Savina Habanero hit 577,000 SHU and the well-known Naga Jolokia from India topped that with an SHU of 855,000.  However, in 2012 the Trinidad Moruga Scorpio hit an all-time high of 1,200,000!
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/17/worlds-hottest-chili-pepper-identified/
The hottest alkaloid in the natural world is believed to be the sap of some Euphorbias in Morocco which are around 1000 times hotter than pure capsaicin with a Scoville rating of around 16,000,000,000!

Capsaicin - what is it?

Capsaicin itself is the active chemical compound in a chilli pepper which are plants belonging to the genus capsicum.

Capsaicin is an irritant to all mammals including humans causing a stinging and burning sensation on contact with the skin or mucous membrane.  It is a colourless and odourless waxy compound that is water repellant and probably exists simply to protect the chilli plant from harm.

Capsaicin was first discovered in 1816 by Christian Friedrich Bucholz and since then has been studied by many scientists and its many effects and characteristics identified.

Capsaicin is mostly present in the white pithy parts of the chilli which holds the seeds and not the seeds themselves as is communal thought.  It is also present in the internal lining of the chilli and, to a lesser extent, the other fleshy parts of the fruit.

When people eat chillies they often experience a feeling of pleasure and even euphoria and this is caused by capsaicin.  This seems to be due to the pain-stimulated release of natural endorphins which are similar to opiates which are widely used in strong painkillers such as morphine and codeine.

Capsaicin itself is used as a painkiller in the form of creams and patches that are particularly useful in the treatment of nerve pain such as that experienced in shingles.  It is possible that it may play a part in the regulation of blood sugars and could have benefits in the treatment of obesity and diabetes.  Some have even suggested it may have a role in the prevention of certain cancers.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2121443/Chillis-Good-news-curry-fans--spicy-dish-key-healthy-heart.html

The effects of capsaicin are often used as a deterrent in products such as pepper spray and pest repellants.  It has recently been proposed that its incorporation into certain drugs might reduce the likelihood of the misuse of these drugs.

Seriously, it is a potent and dangerous compound and in very large doses could theoretically cause death.  We recently watched a video of a Naga Chilli curry eating contest where the winner collapsed and had to receive medical treatment before he was able to receive his award!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJL7tXXd9xw

Like everything, "a little of what you fancy does you good" and anything consumed to excess can be harmful.  When consumed to excess capsaicin can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and burning diarrhoea.  If it gets into the eye or on other mucous membranes it can cause extreme pain and irritation.

At Capsaicinoia we are not promoting or encouraging the excessive consumption of extra hot chillies.  We simply want to celebrate and enjoy the chilli, its many varieties and its positive effects.  We want to have fun with chillies and hope you do too!

Capsaicinoia - What's in a name.

The name Capsaicinoia is made up of two parts, Capsaicin and oia.  Crazy for Chilli!


Let's start with oia which is a suffix of the word paranoia.  Paranoia come from the Greek word for  madness ("para" = outside "nous" = mind).  It is also linked with the suffix oid which means like but not the same as.  Paranoia is often used as a lay term for madness or craziness and at Capsaicinoia we are Crazy for Chilli hence the play on words around the oia suffix.


Interestingly the word capsaicinoid does exist to describe chemical compounds which are like capsaicin but not exactly the same as capsaicin.


Capsaicin itself is the active chemical compound in a chilli pepper which are plants belonging to the genus capsicum.  


Capsaicin is pronounced kap-sei-sin but we use a hard "c" as it has a better ring to it thus pronouncing it kap-sei-kin-oya.


Capsaicinoia is all about celebrating and enjoying the chilli, in terms of how it looks and tastes, and the positive and beneficial effects of capsaicin.