Chilli is a pod from which is the fruit grown on plants in the Capsicum genus of the nightshade family. Generally chilli peppers are used to flavour foods and depending on their type to add spicy heat.

What is the correct spelling? Chilli, chili, or chile?

There are three main variations of spelling and this is dependant on your locality.

• Chilli is the spelling used in British dictionaries, they do list the other spellings as alternatives.
• Chili is mainly used in the US & Canada.
• Chile is the Spanish variation in Mexico and some other Latin American Countries.

Can chillies be frozen?

I found out the other day a top tip for keeping chillies over long periods of time without them spoiling. Normally I buy a packet of chilli peppers and there are far too many to use at one time. The suggestion was that I could freeze the chillies on the day of purchase then take them out of the freezer as I need them. I've tried this on the last packet and they do freeze well, being so small the chilli defrosts really quickly too. I keep mine in an old plastic sweet jar to stop them getting bashed about in the freezer.

Great tip, I'll never waste chilli peppers again.

Related recipes

Home-made Peri-peri sauce (like Nando's Hot Sauce)

Homemade Chilli Sauce Recipe

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