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We’re a curry-loving nation, so you’d think we wouldn’t afraid of chillies. We tend to neglect them in our cooking, though. Besides adding their distinctive heat to dishes, chillies are also metabolism boosters that come in many different varieties, from the mild to the kind of hot that’ll leave you sweating and gulping down whatever drink you have at hand. Choosing the right chilli, and knowing what to do with it, will definitely help turn up the heat in the kitchen – in a good way.

The versatile, good-for-you chilli

A curry wouldn’t be a curry, just as Mexican food just wouldn’t be Mexican, without a little chilli. But the chilli is very versatile, and isn’t just limited to Indian and Mexican cuisine. The top five chilli-loving nations are Spain, Hungary, Thailand, Mexico (only coming in in fourth position), and Indonesia. Other cuisines that make use of the chilli include Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese food. So if you’re an experimental cook, there is a whole lot of inspiration out there for you to draw from.

There is more to the chilli than flavor, though. Chillies also speed up the metabolism, lower the risk of certain types of cancer, reduce inflammation, and help lower both blood sugar levels and blood pressure.

Choosing your chilli

When choosing the perfect chilli, there are a few things to take into consideration. Always buy fresh ones that are glossy and crisp looking. If a chilli is wrinkled, it’s too old. A general rule when it comes to the heat of chillis is that the thicker they are, the milder they are. The little Scotch bonnet chilli is way up there on the heat scale, as are the Thai red chilli and tiny green bird chilli. The Kashmiri chilli is a little milder, but full of flavor, while the European banana chilli is very mild.

Find out more about chillies and how to use them here.

Tags: Blood pressure