Peri-peri

Peri-peri (/ˌpɪri ˈpɪri/ PIRR-ee-PIRR-ee, often hyphenated or as one word, and with variant spellings piri-piri, piripiri or pili pili)[1] is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced by Portuguese explorers in Portugal's former Southern African territories[2][3] and then spread to other Portuguese domains.

"Piri-piri" redirects here. For the Bishop's crown pepper, see Capsicum baccatum. For the Piri-piri burr, see Acaena novae-zelandiae. For the Band Pili Pili, see Jasper van 't Hof. For other uses, see Piripiri.

Peri-Peri
Pili pili peppers (ripe red and unripe green)
GenusCapsicum
SpeciesCapsicum frutescens
CultivarPili pili
OriginPortuguese Empire
Heat Very hot
Scoville scale50,000–175,000 SHU

Etymology

Pilipili in Swahili means "pepper". Other romanizations include pili pili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and peri peri in Malawi, deriving from various pronunciations of the word in different parts of Bantu-speaking Africa. Peri peri is also the spelling used as a loanword in some African Portuguese-language countries, especially in the Mozambican community. The peri-peri spelling is common in English, for example in reference to African-style chili sauce, but in Portuguese it is commonly spelled piri-piri.[4]

The Oxford Dictionary of English records peri-peri as a foreign word meaning "a very hot sauce made with red chilli peppers", and gives its ultimate origin as the word for "pepper" (presumably in the native-African sense) in the Ronga language of southern Mozambique, where Portuguese explorers developed the homonymous cultivar from malagueta pepper.[5]

Plant characteristics
Dried piri piri chilis

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.[6]

Cultivation

Like all chili peppers, piri piri is descended from plants from the Americas, but it has grown in the wild in Africa for centuries and is now cultivated commercially in Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe,[7] and Rwanda. It grows mainly in Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Portugal. It is cultivated for both commercial food processing and the pharmaceutical industry. Cultivation of piri piri is labor-intensive.[7]

Peri-peri sauce
Piri piri sauce

The sauce was originally produced by Portuguese mixing pepper with condiments they trade with their territories in Asia and India. Then the very first sauce may have been produced in any part of Portugal's empire. Either in Portugal's African territories (mixing peppers with condiments they would have brought from Asia) or in their Indian/Asian territories (mixing Asian condiments with peppers they would have brought from Africa or South America) or even in the European territories[8] that comprise modern Portugal (where all Portuguese Empire's trade goods were sent to). Therefore, given the lack of reliable sources, it seems impossible to say more than the sauce was originally produced within the Portuguese Empire, either in their Asian territories or in their territories in Southern Africa or elsewhere.[9][10][11]

The sauce is made from peri-peri chilis (used as a seasoning or marinade). Beyond Portugal and the Southern African region (Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa) where it is very popular,[12] the sauce is particularly well known in the United Kingdom due to the success of the South African restaurant chain Nando's.

Recipes vary from region to region, and sometimes within the same region depending on intended use (example, cooking vs. seasoning at the table) but the key ingredients are chili and garlic, with an oily or acidic base.[13][14][15]

Other common ingredients are salt, spirits (namely whisky), citrus peel, onion, pepper, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano and tarragon.[16]

See also
Flame-grilled peri peri chicken from Nando's

References
  1. S.A, Priberam Informática. "Consulte o significado / definição de piripiri no Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, o dicionário online de português contemporâneo". dicionario.priberam.org (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. "It turns out you were learning to love peri-peri long before we ever had Nando's". The Independent. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. "History of Piri Piri Chicken". Food Fun Travel Blog. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  4. "Peri-Peri | Definition of Peri-Peri by Lexico". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010). piri-piri, noun. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. "The Scoville scale". www.alimentarium.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  7. "Pepper Profile: African Birdseye". Fiery Foods and Barbecue SuperSite. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  8. Morrissy-Swan, Tomé (23 June 2023). "Move over Nando's – this is the real home of peri peri chicken". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  9. "Story | Nando's". Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  10. "Peri Peri Chicken: South Africa's Gift to the World". Nourishing Africa. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  11. "Uncovering the origins of peri-peri sauce". Food. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. Rowley Leigh, "A Fiery Challenge for Delicate Palates", The Financial Times, London, 25 September 2004, p. 6.
  13. Raghavan, Susheela (23 October 2006). Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings. doi:10.1201/b13597. ISBN 9780429129513.
  14. "Molho de piripiri". Vaqueiro PT (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  15. "Piri piri sauce recipe from Lisbon by Rebecca Seal". Cooked. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  16. Bender, David A., ed. (2009). "piri-piri". A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001. ISBN 9780199234875. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
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