There's a new word doing the rounds in British food media this year: "Fricy". Short for fruity plus spicy, it describes dishes that put fruit and chilli on the plate together, deliberately. For example, mango with chilli, pineapple with jalapeño, blood orange with habanero. The BBC named it as one of the food trends to watch for 2026 back in January. Waitrose Food Magazine gave it a full feature in its April edition. The Times wrote it up in May, alongside its cousin trend "swavoury."
Fun, because we've been doing it since before it had a name.
Where Shatta already sits
Shatta Jam is built from habanero fermentation brine and roasted peppers, finished with apple cider vinegar — sweet, acidic and hot in the same spoonful. That's not a recipe we developed in response to a trend piece; it's the product we've made from the start. The sweetness isn't added on top of the heat. It comes from the fermentation and specifically the habanero chilli that we use in both of our Habanero Shatta and Shatta Jam. We often get asked if there are pineapples or mangoes in either product. That's the beauty of the habanero. It's also the beauty of our Habanero Shatta, which allows you to taste the chilli without the full intensity of its heat.
So when a food magazine says fricy is having a moment, our reaction is: finally.
Bringing it into your kitchen this week
The easiest way into fricy cooking isn't a complicated recipe. Pick one fruit, one chilli product, and one hot surface (a grill, a griddle pan, an oven on high). Charred fruit concentrates its sugars, which gives the heat something proper to sit against.
That's the logic behind this week's recipe: charred pineapple and halloumi skewers, glazed in Shatta Jam. Sweet, charred, salty, spicy. Perfection.
Full recipe can be found here.
