Peri-Peri | |
---|---|
Genus | Capsicum |
Species | Capsicum frutescens |
Cultivar | Pili pili |
Origin | Portuguese Empire |
Heat | Very hot |
Scoville scale | 50,000–175,000 SHU |
Piri piri[1] is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced in the Portuguese Empire. [2][3] It spread to other Portuguese places.
Plants are usually very bushy and grow in height to 45–120 cm (18–47 in) with leaves 4–7 cm (1+1⁄2–3 in) long and 1.3–1.5 cm (1⁄2–9⁄16 in) wide. The fruits are generally tapered to a blunt point and measure up to 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long. The immature pod colour is green; the mature colour is bright red or purple. Some bird's-eye chili varieties measure up to 175,000 Scoville heat units.[4]
Peri-peri is descended from plants from the Americas, but it has grown in the wild in Africa for centuries. It is now grown commercially in Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe[5] and Rwanda. It grows mainly in Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Portugal. It is cultivated for both commercial food processing and the pharmaceutical industry. Cultivation of peri-peri is labor-intensive.[5]
Peri-peri sauce was produced by mixing pepper with condiments the Portuguese traded with their other territories in Asia and India.[6][7]
The sauce is made from peri-peri chilis used as a seasoning or marinade. Beyond Portugal and Southern African where it is very popular,[8] the sauce is particularly well known in the United Kingdom due to the success of the South African restaurant chain Nando's.
Some is used in cooking and some is used for seasoning at the table. The key ingredients are chili and garlic, with an oily or acidic base.[9][10][11]
Other common ingredients are salt, spirits (namely whisky), citrus peel, onion, pepper, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano and tarragon.[12]