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Hot peppers, chili culture, and spicy food
Your guide to growing, cooking, and enjoying hot peppers.
Variety profiles, growing tips, hot sauce reviews, and recipes for anyone who likes their food with heat. No gatekeeping, just good peppers.
What we cover
- Chili variety profiles and heat ratings
- Growing guides for all climates
- Hot sauce reviews and comparisons
- Spicy recipes and cooking techniques
What you can expect
- Honest reviews from a real grower
- Practical advice that works in Australian conditions
- Heat level context (not just Scoville bragging)
- Content for beginners and seasoned chili heads alike
Latest posts
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Overwintering Chili Plants in Cool Australian Climates: What Worked This Year
Six years of overwintering chili plants in Sydney's coolest pockets. Some seasons I lose half the collection. This year I lost two plants. Here is what changed.
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Fermented Hot Sauce Shelf Stability: A Backyard Saucier's Notes
Fermented hot sauce is forgiving until it is not. After ruining a few batches, here is what I have learned about shelf stability in Australian conditions.
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Chili Plant Pruning in May: What to Cut, When, and Why I Used to Get It Wrong
May pruning of chili plants in Sydney divides growers. Here's how I prune now, what I cut, what I leave, and the mistakes that cost me a season of fruit.
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Scotch Bonnet vs Habanero: A Sydney Grower's Honest Side-By-Side
I've grown both Scotch Bonnet and Habanero in my Sydney backyard for years. Here's the real difference in flavour, heat, plant behaviour, and which one earns the bed space.
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Overwintering Chillies in Australian Conditions: What I've Learned
Overwintering chilli plants in Australian climates is doable but the rules are different from what the international guides suggest. Here's what's worked.
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Fermenting Hot Sauce: Why Salt Percentage Matters More Than the Recipe
Most hot sauce fermentation problems come down to salt percentage. Here's how to think about it and what's actually worked across dozens of batches.
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Growing Aji Amarillo in Sydney: What I've Learned After Five Seasons
Aji amarillo is a Peruvian chili that struggles in cool climates. Here's how I get reliable harvests in Sydney, including pot choice, feeding and pruning tricks.
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Three Ways I Preserve Chili Paste at Home (And Which One Wins)
Vinegar, salt or oil - three home preservation methods for chili paste compared. Real shelf life, flavour notes and safety tips from 15 years of making paste.
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Fermenting Hot Sauce: The Ratios I've Settled On After Twenty Batches
Twenty fermented hot sauce batches in, here's the salt percentage, time, and aging discipline that consistently produces good results.
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Growing Ghost Peppers in Australian Conditions: What I've Learned in 2026
Ghost peppers are not the easiest superhot to grow in Australia. Five seasons in, here's what actually works in different climates.
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Fermented Hot Sauce: Five Mistakes That Ruin Your First Batch
Fermentation makes incredible hot sauce, but beginners make predictable mistakes. Here's what goes wrong and how to avoid it on your first attempt.
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Growing Peppers in Containers: What Works on an Apartment Balcony
You don't need a backyard to grow chilis. Container growing works, but you need the right varieties, proper pot sizes, and realistic expectations. Here's what I've learned.
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Autumn Chili Harvest: How to Preserve Your Glut of Peppers
Your plants produced hundreds of chilies in late summer and you can't use them fresh. Here's how to preserve them properly for year-round use.
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Ghost Pepper vs Carolina Reaper: Which One to Grow
Both are superhot chilies, both will hurt you, but they have different growing requirements and flavour profiles. Here's which makes sense for your garden.
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I'm Using AI-Controlled Sensors in My Chili Greenhouse. Here's What I've Learned
After a year of running automated temperature, humidity, and irrigation monitoring in my small greenhouse, the results are surprising — and not all positive.