There is no need to state the obvious about the heat we are experiencing here in the Caribbean. According to the local meteorological office (in Barbados), these spiking temperatures are expected to continue into November. Heaven help us! The Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPPA) is putting us on notice of a possible short-term shortage and supply issues. Local milk producers are also reporting a drop in production. I have been doing my bit, capitalising on the high temperatures to dry and preserve some things, like hot peppers.
Each year, as certain things come into season, I set, pickle, pack and freeze for various uses. For example, with tomatoes now selling at BDS$8 – $9 per pound, I do not have to worry my head because when they were plentiful, I dried some; I roasted some, and I made a sauce with several pounds. This year, limes have been scarce but I still have some that I had preserved from a year ago. One of my favourite things to dry and preserve is hot peppers. We get quite a variety here so I dry them leaving some whole, turn them into flakes, powder, and of course making them into pepper sauce. I also make hot sauce – hot peppers cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic and celery. I use hot sauce on almost everything. It’s hot but not as fiery as pure pepper sauce. I have had some ghost pepper, pepper sauce, for a few years now that I approach with a lot of respect and extreme caution (lol).
