Tuesday, December 07, 2010

A Cautionary Tale

I like Chillie Oil. I grow Chillies. I've previously put home-grown Chillies in oil to make, errm, Chillie Oil. Should be simple, and it has been in the past.

Not this time.

The first two bits went well, growing the Chillies & putting them in some nice extra-virgin olive oil. But then, lateish on Saturday night, already tired & facing a long & snowy day on the road on Sunday, we noticed that the bottle was sitting in a small pool of oil.

Wilma Wilbury, brave Wilma Wilbury, investigated and, long story short, the bottle exploded in her face.

We had green, oily, chillie mess everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. All over the kitchen, over the window, the cooker, the floor, the walls, the dining table. And of course, Wilma.

Wilma is unhurt, although she did slip out of my hands a bit (the oil, you know).

It had clearly been fermenting in the bottle but fortunately the glass didn't break, just vented the oil at high pressure, but Ye Gods, what a mess. Come to think of it, I haven't looked at the ceiling; there might be some there too. And it was horrible. It was like the sort of stuff seabirds regurgitate to feed their young.

Shan't be doing that again (I've been told).

4 comments:

Gerry Snape said...

I'm so sorry woody....glad that Wilma is fine ...but I'm laughing and loving the thought of Wilma slipping out of your hands!

Sue Garrett said...

Always knew that you couldn't trust chillies.

We once had a similar incident with some homemade wine. Explosion in the middle of the night and grape slush everywhere - we had to scrape it off the ceiling. The bung had blown off a bit like a volcanic eruption. We certainly flew out of bed quickly!

RobD said...

Yikes! That could have been bad, pleased to hear Wilma's OK.

Damo said...

Glad you both escaped relatively unscathed, I shall avoid DIY chilli oil after your cautionary tail!