Piri piri

Piri piri is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens  from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced  in the Portuguese Empire.  It spread to other Portuguese places.

 Plant characteristics 

Plants are usually very bushy and grow in height to  with leaves  long and  wide. The fruits are generally tapered to a blunt point and measure up to  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.

 Cultivation 

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 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.

 Peri-peri sauce 

Peri-peri sauce was produced by mixing pepper with condiments the Portuguese traded with their other territories in Asia and India.

The sauce is made from peri-peri chilis used as a seasoning or marinade. Beyond Portugal and Southern African where it is very popular,Rowley Leigh, "A Fiery Challenge for Delicate Palates", The Financial Times, London, 25 September 2004, p. 6. 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.

Other common ingredients are salt, spirits (namely whisky), citrus peel, onion, pepper, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano and tarragon.

 References 

 Other websites 



Category:Portuguese food
Category:Brazilian food
Category:Capsicum
Category:Spices
Category:Sauces
Category:Mozambican food
Category:Angolan food
Category:Namibian food
Category:South African food