A notable growing year was to be expected. It's been both hot and bright for the majority of this Cornish summer. But, now that this year's chillies have begun to be harvested, we can see that the growing year is exceptional.

Over the past few weeks, we've been receiving the first harvests of chilli varieties, from the spritely citrus of the Khang Starr Lemon StarrBurst to the mellow fury of White Ghosts, all of which are now in various states of fermentation.

Last week, we took to visit the Cornish Chilli farm, who have been growing this year's chillies, and we (as always) felt like we were visiting Wonka's Factory. Plants were abundant with milds, hots, and super hots, each glistening with moisture from the polytunnel humidity.

Part of the visit was to collect chillies being grown specifically for our own hot sauces, but it was also a prime opportunity to try new varieties. One such variety was such a striking taste experience, we spontaneously added it to this year's hot sauce roster... the chilli is known as Smooth White.

This chilli, mistakenly grown under the guise of White Ghosts, was totally new to us. Bizarrely, it does taste creamy (for want of a better word), and our minds were constantly drawn to the experience of milkshakes as we chomped away. 

We're bringing some into the kitchen and will see what exciting BATCH can be made.

Once we were back, we split the chillies, with most going into various fermentation tubs and bags, while a small portion was set aside for experimentation. And, of all our concoctions we put together, it was the White Ghost and Dragonfruit bottle that enamoured us the most.

This lurid sauce is wild. The White Ghost chillies were a blank canvas, allowing the densely pink-purple dragonfruit run away with the visuals. They did not, however, take a back seat in flavour and what was created is a sauce that sees the heat and brilliance of the chillies wrestle with the floral sweetness of the fruit. A marriage that is perfect for ice cream.