This thread brought you by Pringles Extreme Buffalo Wings of WHAT THE FU---

[Meister]

Nah, Sichuan pepper isn't a chili pepper, it's a seed. Bird's eye chilies maybe? Those pack a punch.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

mmmmspicy stuff..I'm toats a sucker for the heat. Currently have various Dave's Insanity bottles in my fridge and some Mad Dogs as well. Odd as it sounds, the really hot shit is great during summer for cooling off. Constant perspiration makes just about any breeze feel cool and refreshing!

There's a local organic store about five minutes away from my place that sells Naga Bhut Jolokia hot sauce. It tempts me every time I walk by it. Singing its siren song to the tune of 850,000+ scoville units. I will buy it one day. The burning glory will be experienced.

I hope my body can take it.

What really gets my goat is all the shit claiming to be hot and spicy when it falls far short of the mark. Heretical false advertising, I say!

[Flarecobra]

Originally Posted by Meister

Nah, Sichuan pepper isn't a chili pepper, it's a seed. Bird's eye chilies maybe? Those pack a punch.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chin...peppercorn.htm

Berry actually.

[walkertexasdruid]

Originally Posted by Flarecobra

Sezchwan peppers you mean?

I think those are the little buggers.

[Magus]

So the Jolokia (also known as the Naga Bhut Jolokia, or ghost pepper) is now the second hottest chile pepper in the world, after being considered the hottest for many years...what in the world replaced it?!

I present...the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion!



EVEN THE NAME IS PERFECT.

Originally Posted by Yahoo News

"The question was, could the Chile Pepper Institute establish the benchmark for chile heat?" he said. "Chile heat is a complex thing, and the industry doesn't like to base it on just a single fruit that's a record holder. It's too variable." The academic institute is based at the university's agriculture school and is partially funded by federal grants, as well as some industry groups depending on the project.

The team planted about 125 plants of each variety — the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, the Trinidad Scorpion, the 7-pot, the Chocolate 7-pot and the Bhut Jolokia, which was a previous record-holder identified by the institute and certified by Guinness World Records in 2007.

Randomly selected mature fruits from several plants within each variety were harvested, dried and ground to powder. The compounds that produce heat sensation — the capsaicinoids — were then extracted and examined.

During harvesting, senior research specialist Danise Coon said she and the two students who were picking the peppers went through about four pairs of latex gloves.

"The capsaicin kept penetrating the latex and soaking into the skin on our hands. That has never happened to me before," she said.

Chile peppers of the same variety can vary in heat depending on environmental conditions. More stress on a plant — hotter temperatures or less water, for example — will result in hotter fruit.

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion's new notoriety is already making waves in the industry and among those who love their hot, spicy foods.

"As with all the previous record holders, there will be a run on seeds and plants," said Jim Duffy, a grower in San Diego who supplied the university with seeds for four of the super-hot varieties. "Like Cabbage Patch dolls right before Christmas or Beanie Babies, it's like the hot item."

Not even Duffy or the researchers would dare to pop a whole Trinidad Moruga Scorpion in their mouths, but there are plenty of videos on social networking sites where heat-loving daredevils have tried.

The blood flow increases and the endorphins start flowing. Their faces turn red, the sweat starts rolling, their eyes and noses water and there's a fiery sensation that spreads across their tongues and down their throats.

"People actually get a crack-like rush," Duffy said. "I know the people who will eat the hottest stuff to get this rush, but they've got to go through the pain."

Pepper experts said there are a handful of people who are crazy enough to subject themselves to the pain, but the rest just want to try out these super-hot peppers on their friends or make killer hot sauce — and it doesn't take a whole pepper to do that.

More bang for the buck is how Bosland describes it. He said a family could buy two of the super-hot peppers to flavor their meals for an entire week.

The beauty of the peppers is they're not only the hottest in the world, but they're also some of the most flavorful peppers, Duffy said.

"You can make a barbeque sauce or a hot sauce at a mild to medium level using small amounts of these peppers and it will be so darn addictive that you won't want to put your spoon down," he said. "You'll want to eat and eat and eat."

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

I will consume the sauce.

Eventually. When my body can take it.

[Magus]

CAN YOU TAKE THE STING OF THE SCORPION?! These ad campaigns write themselves.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Trinidad moruga scorpion! You gonna need a new toilet!

[Krylo]

I've noticed that I DON'T notice much of a difference between Naga Jolokia and Habanero sauces (and just sliced habanero)*. Like, it seems once you get to a certain point you're just feeling maximum pain and welp.

So given that I don't much see the point of the Scorpion other than the totally awesome name.

That said I don't keep myself in 'shape' for eating spicy foods. I just tough them out when I feel like eating something spicy and trust on my natural pain tolerance to handle it, so maybe it's different if you have hot sauces more than once every month/couple months.

*Disclaimer: I mean as far as actual heat goes. The ghost pepper heat seems to come on slower and be less sharp, leaving me actually preferring Red Savina for most sauces as it's a more immediate sting, while the Naga Jolokia creeps up on you. Also flavors are different, obviously.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Originally Posted by Magus

Do they always look like dicks or was the photographer feeling cheeky?

EDIT: Alright, now I see where the individual peppers are, but the way they sit on the vine totally makes the image of a dick.