Market Reports
28 articlesWhat's happening at chilli markets, festivals, and the wider hot sauce industry.
28 articles in Market Reports
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5 min read
Seeds vs. seedlings: what to buy this season and where to find them
Nurseries rarely stock the interesting varieties. Here's where to find decent chilli seed suppliers — and when buying seedlings makes sense.
4 min
Chilli salt, chilli oil, chilli vinegar — three pantry staples you should make yourself
Three infusions that transform a pantry. None requires more than 20 minutes of active time. All keep for months.
6 min
The beginner's guide to growing chilli from seed in SA
Jalapeños, Thai birds, cayennes — all easy if you start with the right varieties. A practical starter guide for South African gardens.
5 min
Your First Batch of Hot Sauce: A Complete Beginner's Guide
Making your first hot sauce is easier than you think. This guide walks through a simple cooked sauce from scratch — no special equipment needed.
5 min
Peri-Peri chicken wings — done properly
The real version uses actual peri-peri chillies, not just hot sauce. Here's how to make the marinade from scratch.
4 min
How to Freeze Fresh Chillies (Step-by-Step)
Freezing is the quickest way to preserve a glut of fresh chillies. Blanching vs raw freezing — which method is best, and for which varieties.
5 min
How to grow Carolina Reapers in a South African summer
The Reaper thrives in Gauteng's heat if you get the drainage right. Here's what 12 months of trial and error taught us.
5 min
Understanding Heat Levels: The Scoville Scale Explained
What does 100,000 SHU actually mean? How the Scoville scale works, what the numbers mean in practice, and where common chillies sit on it.
4 min
Classic Peri-Peri Chicken Marinade
A traditional peri-peri marinade built from scratch — bold, garlicky, and fiery. Works on chicken, fish, or vegetables.
5 min
Preserving Chillies in Oil — Safety, Technique, and Shelf Life
Chilli oil is delicious but requires respect. The botulism risk is real — here's how to infuse safely and store correctly.
5 min
5 Mistakes Beginners Make When Growing Chillies (And How to Avoid Them)
Most first-time chilli growers make the same mistakes. Here's what goes wrong, and the simple fixes that solve each one.
4 min
Reviewed: Nando's Extra Hot vs. the artisan alternatives
We blind-tasted five local hot sauces against the benchmark. Spoiler: two of the indie brands won on flavour.