Mountain Peppers. Hot. Hot. Hot.

Our Tasmanian Mountain Pepper has edible leaves and berries which are hot, spicy and with a unique bush flavour. I met a man with lovely red hair who was very interested in purchasing these Mountain Pepper plants. I offered him a leaf to taste. He thought it was delicious, but very mild in flavour, so he ate a little more. What I had omitted to tell him was the full scale of the heat comes a little later. So, I waited. When the full force of the heat came, his face started to turn pink, then orange, then red to match his hair, he started sweating, he needed water. More water. More water. More. I was beginning to match his panic. He was on fire. My heart sank, I thought, on no, this taste test trick has gone horribly wrong. Perhaps I should call an ambulance. No. I had better call the fire brigade, to extinguish this fire breathing, red-haired, red-faced man.

Not everyone is as sensitive to heat like my red-haired man, (who survived his ordeal, thank goodness!) because everyone has a different palette. But in general, it's a warning, the pepper berries and leaves are hot.

The pepper berries are ready to harvest in March, but the leaves are always available for use in cooking. And are always hot. To get berries you will need a male and female plant, but only the females have the berries.

​I have found using the pepper leaves in cooking, it's best to add just a little before serving soups etc., to get that extra punch. But not too much, as we don't want your guests to be like my red-haired man. Pepper Berry used in conjunction with fruit, brings out the flavour of fruits, and is really worth a try, like chilli and chocolate, unusual, weird, but amazing. Play around with the flavour and have fun.