Hot Sauce Poll

[RWebb]

ok, who here uses a spoon to taste test new hot sauces?

[gr8fl4porsche]

Real men

[gshase]

Chips

[gtc]

Spoons are for pansies. I drink it straight out of the bottle.

[RWebb]

I've BTDT.

But I find spoons helpful in a blind tasting.

[cgarr]

I never stick a spoon in my mouth unless I want to end it all....

[DARISC]

A few years back, was having dinner with three other couples at a King's Fish House, which has a collection of hot sauces in a big cabinet, available for the asking.

One of my friends there is a CA born, hot sauce fan and asked the waiter to bring bottles of their five hottest, which he did, setting one bottle aside from the rest and warning that it was really, REALLY hot!

So my buddy, who is not timid, but who is smart, put just a tiny bit of it on a toothpick and put it on his tongue. In a few seconds, he said, Holy crap!, his face turned bright red, began perspiring profusely and he reached for the coffee creamer and took a swig to quench the fire.

Seeing this thread, I called him to ask what it was called. He'd forgotten, but some time after that experience, he was back at the restaurant and asked for that sauce. The waiter came back and said they'd removed it from their collection due to a few irate diner's complaints.

He did remember that it was made with Scotch Bonnet peppers. I just Googled this ... whoa!

"Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville Units. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale."

[masraum]

Originally Posted by DARISC

He did remember that it was made with Scotch Bonnet peppers. I just Googled this ... whoa!

"Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville Units. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale."

Now do a search for Ghost Peppers. They are arother order of magnitude hotter than Scotch Bonnets. Apparently, the only place in the world where they grow is a part of India. There are a few folks that grow them, and I think one that exports. They can't grow them fast enough to satisfy the world's demand.

[RWebb]

BTW folks - do NOT forget to smoke your peppers.

[tabascobobcat]

Ghost Peppers grow in Ohio now

[DARISC]

The current "world's hottest" is the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, officially tested at 1,463,700 SHU.

Ghost pepper:
Bhut Jolokia chili pepper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[RWebb]

it's a "Butch" pepper ??

[Heel n Toe]

Why are we messin' around with waterboarding when there are substances as intense as this around? I would break in five seconds and feel absolutely no regrets... "yeah, I'll tell you all of our nuclear secrets... just hand me a loaf of bread and that sugar bowl."

[dafischer]

Originally Posted by RWebb

BTW folks - do NOT forget to smoke your peppers.

It's rough keeping them lit.

[dafischer]

My wife grows Ghost peppers in her pepper garden here in NJ, along with about 20 other varieties, including Scotch Bonnets and Habaneros. She likes throwing a couple of Ghosts in each batch of Salsa she makes...talk about sinus clearing!! Always fun to startle dinner guests with some during cocktails.
She also makes a whoop ass Scotch Bonnet hot sauce every fall, which she cans so we can have it all winter.
I'm a lucky guy.

[DARISC]

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

[artplumber]

There was an article about some indian lady who could eat 50 of the ghost peppers in 2 minutes or something crazy. And yes there are many people looking at weapon applications for the really hot peppers

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by artplumber

... looking at weapon applications for the really hot peppers

Capsaicin is the chem. that makes 'em hot. Defensive weapons already exist, i.e., pepper spray.

Interesting thing is, that same chem. can be topically applied to relieve joint pain in some cases.

[artplumber]

I am aware of the active ingredient. IIRC the same article that discussed the indian woman discussed other applications eg/wide dispersal systems to flood a warzone, sabotage food sources for an army in the field etc.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by artplumber

I am aware of the active ingredient...

I'm wondering, probably a dumb question but, are peppers the only source from which capsaicin can be obtained?