The Perfect Pickle Book by David Collison

Author:David Collison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: COOKING / General
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
Published: 2008-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

‘The one so like a child’s corall, as not to be discerned at the distance of two paces, a crimson and scarlet mixt; the fruit about three inches long and shines more than the best pollisht corall. The other, of the same colour and glistening as much but shaped like a large button of a cloak; both of one and the same quality; both violently strong and growing on a little shrub no bigger than a gooseberry bush.’ These words come from Lignon’s History of the Barbadoes, written between 1647 and 1653. He is talking about chillies – peppers that ‘burn the mouth’.

We had first hand experience of the devastating effects of Capsicum frutescens when we visited Dounne Moore (award-winning business entrepreneur and self-styled ‘Black Cinderella’) in her flat in East Ham, London. She started her highly successful enterprise by importing peppers direct from her native Trinidad and using them as the base for a unique preparation: Gramma’s Pepper Sauce. This highly concentrated condiment, enhanced with a dozen or more herbs, originally came in four strengths: mild (‘That’s hot’), hot (‘That’s very hot’), extra hot (‘That’s extremely hot’), and super hot (‘That’s just unbelievably hot’). The recipe and all the little tricks of the trade were gleaned from Dounne’s muchloved grandmother during her Trinidad childhood.

These sauces are used in tiny quantities as condiments on the side of the plate or as flavourings for all kinds of meat, fish and noodle dishes. Impressive claims are also made for their medicinal properties: they are high in vitamins and minerals, they improve the digestion, stimulate the circulation and alleviate rheumatism, chilblains, skin diseases and much more. There is even a West Indian therapeutic pickle called Mandram, consisting of chilli pods mixed with thinly sliced, unpeeled cucumber, shallots, chives or onions, lemon or lime juice and Madeira. It is claimed to work wonders with a weak digestion.

Chilli peppers are also the most common ingredient of more conventional West Indian pickles, along with sweet peppers, carrots and cho-cho— a curious vegetable that looks like a cross between a pear and a gourd. To say these pickles are very hot is an understatement!

Pickled Hot Peppers

Make no mistake: this pickle is one of the strongest and most powerful you are ever likely to taste. Its devastating heat comes from special West Indian peppers that look a bit like wrinkled snooker balls; look for them in Caribbean and Asian shops and markets. Mayblin Hamilton, of the Plantation Inn, Leytonstone, London, who devised this recipe, makes it look pretty by carving some of the pieces of vegetables into sunny smiling faces with big grins. Cho-cho is a pale green, pear-shaped vegetable related to the marrow. It is also known as chow-chow, chayote and christophene, and is available from Caribbean markets and shops, either fresh or in tins.

MAKES ABOUT 1 kg (2 lb)

12 HOT RED PEPPERS, RED AND YELLOW

2 ONIONS, THINLY SLICED

3x5 cm (2 INCH) STRIPS CARROT, PEELED

1x5 cm (2 INCH) STRIP CHO-CHO, PEELED

1x15 ml SPOON (1 TABLESPOON) ALLSPICE BERRIES

1x5

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