Chilli Festival

Bank holiday weekend I went to a Chilli Festival in Frosts, a local garden centre. Chilli Fiesta would have been a more fun name that fitted their theme - they had staff in sombreros, a mariachi band, a chilli focused BBQ and a little straw bale pen with micro pigs on display. There were also rows and rows of different chilli plants or seeds available for purchase. I sampled the grilled haloumi and veggies kebabs from the BBQ with a variety of chilli sauces, a chili jelly sweet, chili cheese.

Some fun chilli facts I learnt...

• Christopher Columbus brought the chilli plant to Europe around 1492, he mistook it for black pepper, hence why it is known as chilli 'pepper'.

• Chillies are full of vitamin A and C - twice as much as citrus fruit.

• Hungary is world famous for it's chilli powder, known as paprika. There is a Chilli museum in Szeged.

• Soaking chillies in vinegar with help reduce their strength.

• The best way to relieve the burning sensation from eating chillies is to drink milk, yogurt or ice-cream. Water will only disperse the oil around your mouth and make it worse.

• The hottest part of the chilli is not the seed, it's the white placenta inside the chilli.