What's the Hottest Pepper You've Eaten?

    What's the Hottest Pepper You've Eaten?

    post #1 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:12pm
    Thread Starter 

    Just curious.  Lurid tales welcome. :evil:

     

    My hottest was a very hot jalapeƱo, about 25 years ago.  I thought that adding two of them to a pot of spaghetti would be OK.  Managed to eat all of the spaghetti, but it wasn't much fun by the end.

     

    I do love jalapeƱos, and I like spicy vindaloo and similar dishes, but I generally avoid the really hot stuff, or these modern "scary" peppers.  I did have a couple of the "super buffalo" wings at one place, but they were not at the top of their list.

     

    Go ahead, guys.  Impress me! :beer:

    Reply
    Reply
    post #2 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:40pm

    I don't like stuff that's too hot, so I don't have voluntary experiences to report. I did buy once at a local farmer's market what's touted as the hottest pepper in the world, called naka jolokia, from India. I did not use it to cook, though, so i cannot attest. Apparently, in the region where it's grown in india they do pepper eating competitions. People don't die, but regularly pass out.

     

    My worst experience eating something hot was in a "temple cooking" restaurant in Korea. Tricked by a glowing review in the NYC (presumably by an anorexic journalist), I tried. The food was awful overall, but one of the worst moments was when from the little dishes of steamed weeds I was served, at some point I inserted into my mouth what turned out to be the hottest thing I ever put in. It wasn't red, and I don't know what it was (probably more like a wasabi type of veggie), but I nearly passed out. I wasn't the only one. A few minutes later, from a nearby table with local youths (who had earlier watched the foreigner's mishap with some amusement), I heard a woman scream and the male companions shout for water...

     

    cacio

    Reply
    Reply
    post #3 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:43pm

    Having grown up in India and preferring to eat the hottest foods - the extreme I've had was a chilli made in Canada with bison & venision meat but with more than a few of the supposedly hottest ghost peppers added in (& lucky us - we weren't aware of this) - best of all, made by an Eastern European immigrant coworker for 2-3 of the S. Asian born staff members at work (knowing our liking for the hot food) - it numbed my tongue after a min & a half & from then on, I felt like I was breathing in & out not air but fire...I love hot food, but I don't think i'll try that ever again; oh & it killed my stomach for 2-3 days as well...Lot of buttermilk (which I hate) helped me recover.

     

    On a regular note, the father of a Carribean friend of mine makes this amazing Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce - pure, unadulterated stuff (no vinegar / salt / tomato / onions etc) - my friend calls us both crazy...This is really hot, but on the bearable scale for me - goes well with anything - particularly burgers, a half spoon of this changes the burger completely. The sauce though is the hottest I would prefer to eat - much hotter than the hottest food I've had in India.

    Hottest in India will be a type of green / red chillies stew sort of thing that my grandmother makes, along with some tamarind in it - the stew as such is a misnomer as there's no meat or any veggies - its just oil + chillies + a little tamarind (raw tamarind & not the tamarind paste). Excluding the Ghost chillies, these will probably be the hottest chillies available in India...I think it's called "Puli Milagai" - transliteration will be tamarind chillies. Compared to the previous 2, this one is about half as hot as the scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

    Reply
    Reply
    post #4 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:44pm

    Ghost Pepper

    Reply
    Reply
    post #5 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:46pm

    Called Bhut Jolokia / ghost peppers - this was the one that my colleague surprised us with...Bhut translates to ghost...

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cacio View Post

     touted as the hottest pepper in the world, called naka jolokia, from India
    Reply
    Reply
    post #6 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:47pm
    Thread Starter 

    ^ WOW!  That was exactly the kind of story I was looking for!!!  Thank you, cacio!!!

     

    I've had some pretty spicy Korean, but I'd better be careful! :shocked:

    Reply
    Reply
    post #7 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:50pm
    • kbe
    • offline
    • Gender:

    I don't know if hot sauce is included but it is just about pure premium high grade certified oleroresin capsicum. I tasted a pot of chili made by a friend who had a bottle of this and "put in about a pencil eraser sized amount". I gauged the pot to have had 2 quarts of chili. I could not finish my bowl. I probably ate three bites and thought my mouth had made a trip to the lowest level of  Dante's Inferno. All I can say is this stuff could easily peel layers off a Damascus Steel blade.

     

    My friend 'enjoyed' his bowl or so he said. My take watching him eat it was he died and miraculously revived several times as he ate.

     

    This stuff is so hot you need to drench your mouth in milk after just looking at a picture of it!

     

    Oh, and it is nearly as bad coming out as going in.

     

    http://www.hotsauce.com/One-1-Million-Scoville-Concentrated-Pepper-p/1330ms.htm

    Reply
    Reply
    post #8 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:53pm
    Thread Starter 
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by badarun View Post
     

    Having grown up in India and preferring to eat the hottest foods - the extreme I've had was a chilli made in Canada with bison & venision meat but with more than a few of the supposedly hottest ghost peppers added in (& lucky us - we weren't aware of this) - best of all, made by an Eastern European immigrant coworker for 2-3 of the S. Asian born staff members at work (knowing our liking for the hot food) - it numbed my tongue after a min & a half & from then on, I felt like I was breathing in & out not air but fire...I love hot food, but I don't think i'll try that ever again; oh & it killed my stomach for 2-3 days as well...Lot of buttermilk (which I hate) helped me recover.

     

    On a regular note, the father of a Carribean friend of mine makes this amazing Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce - pure, unadulterated stuff (no vinegar / salt / tomato / onions etc) - my friend calls us both crazy...This is really hot, but on the bearable scale for me - goes well with anything - particularly burgers, a half spoon of this changes the burger completely. The sauce though is the hottest I would prefer to eat - much hotter than the hottest food I've had in India.

    Hottest in India will be a type of green / red chillies stew sort of thing that my grandmother makes, along with some tamarind in it - the stew as such is a misnomer as there's no meat or any veggies - its just oil + chillies + a little tamarind (raw tamarind & not the tamarind paste). Excluding the Ghost chillies, these will probably be the hottest chillies available in India...I think it's called "Puli Milagai" - transliteration will be tamarind chillies. Compared to the previous 2, this one is about half as hot as the scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

     

    OMG - I don't think I'm missing anything with these ghost peppers.  The idea of burning my stomach for 2-3 days isn't pleasant at all!  Bison chili - no problem.  But not these ghost peppers.  They sound positively scary.

     

    Great stories, badarun - thanks for those!  And thanks for the buttermilk cure - that sounds like the real deal.  Hope I never have to use it!

    Reply
    Reply
    post #9 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:55pm

    Cacio's issue might have been Wasabi peas - wasabi can be crazy hot as well, on a different note though - i dislike its flavor, so i try to avoid it completely...

    Reply
    Reply
    post #10 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:55pm
    Thread Starter 
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by naylor View Post
     

    Ghost Pepper

     

    What was it like?  These sound particularly scary.  I doubt that I'll ever try one, so I'm going to have to live vicariously here!

    Reply
    Reply
    post #11 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:58pm

    Habanero:D. Ok, it was a homemade hot sauce..made with like 4 habanero peppers and not much else. I like spicy food so much, that it was a Christmas gift, a make-your-own hot sauce kit. I went right to the habanero:). When I get pizza...you know those hot pepper containers? I actually unscrew the lid so I can literally pour the red peppers on..a sprinkling doesn't cut it. I don't pour as much on as I used to as my stomach doesn't handle hot as well as before..but I can still hold my own. I made enchiladas for a potluck..people complained they were too hot to eat. lol. Jalepenos aren't bad..they do get hotter if heated up though. Someone grilled a jalepeno..it was like a bacon wrapped one with cream cheese, yum. It was good..pretty hot though!! But good. A basic hot sauce I like is Cholula. If we get wings, we get the hottest sauce...depending on the place..even the hottest sauces may not really be very hot. The hottest salsa we've had is made by a friend of ours from Mexico. He doesn't mess around. His salsa is *hot*. He makes three different batches for the potlucks. Labeling them so ppl know what they are getting into, lol.

     

    Great topic!:D.

    Reply
    Reply
    post #12 of 82
    9/15/13 at 9:59pm

    To add as FYI - a natural remedy that can work for some - if u have ulcers - buy yogurt culture and use goat's milk (boil & cool the milk b4 adding the culture) - let it set - this cures my flaring ulcers time & again...Might not work for everyone though.

    & yes no more Ghost peppers - I love hot food & I'm probably the person among all my family & friends who will take a dare on any hot food - but to eat that ghost peppers is plain stupid - your senses get numbed...

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Redneck Perfumisto View Post
     

     

    OMG - I don't think I'm missing anything with these ghost peppers.  The idea of burning my stomach for 2-3 days isn't pleasant at all!  Bison chili - no problem.  But not these ghost peppers.  They sound positively scary.

     

    Great stories, badarun - thanks for those!  And thanks for the buttermilk cure - that sounds like the real deal.  Hope I never have to use it!

    Reply
    Reply
    post #13 of 82
    9/15/13 at 10:01pm
    Thread Starter 
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kbe View Post
     

    I don't know if hot sauce is included but it is just about pure premium high grade certified oleroresin capsicum. I tasted a pot of chili made by a friend who had a bottle of this and "put in about a pencil eraser sized amount". I gauged the pot to have had 2 quarts of chili. I could not finish my bowl. I probably ate three bites and thought my mouth had made a trip to the lowest level of  Dante's Inferno. All I can say is this stuff could easily peel layers off a Damascus Steel blade.

     

    My friend 'enjoyed' his bowl or so he said. My take watching him eat it was he died and miraculously revived several times as he ate.

     

    This stuff is so hot you need to drench your mouth in milk after just looking at a picture of it!

     

    Oh, and it is nearly as bad coming out as going in.

     

    http://www.hotsauce.com/One-1-Million-Scoville-Concentrated-Pepper-p/1330ms.htm

     

    This is scary stuff.  I looked up those ghost peppers, and they have basically the same rating as this - a million.  Three bites???  OMG.

     

    No way am I touching this stuff.  NO WAY!!!  There are some things that need to be left to the experts.  I loved one comment by some guy - "finally, something that makes me sweat again!" LOLOLOLOL

    Reply
    Reply
    post #14 of 82
    9/15/13 at 10:02pm

    Oh ya, I loooove wasabi!

    Reply
    Reply
    post #15 of 82
    9/15/13 at 10:02pm

    Good that I didn't try to eat my bhut jolokia then! (I tried to grow plants, but the seeds didn't germinate).

     

    Wasabi peas? another thing I was not aware of. Not that the servers there told us anyway - it was a menu fixe. Luckily, after I regained consciousness, they didn't have any longer lasting effect on the stomach.

     

    Has anybody heard of progress in using capsaicin as a pain killer (not ingested by mouth, that is)? Its numbing properties seem to be quite peculiar and useful. Will we be rubbing bhut jolokia on arthritic knees?

     

    cacio

    Reply
    Reply

    9/15/13 at 9:12pm

    Redneck Perfumisto said:



    Just curious.  Lurid tales welcome. :evil:

     

    My hottest was a very hot jalapeƱo, about 25 years ago.  I thought that adding two of them to a pot of spaghetti would be OK.  Managed to eat all of the spaghetti, but it wasn't much fun by the end.

     

    I do love jalapeƱos, and I like spicy vindaloo and similar dishes, but I generally avoid the really hot stuff, or these modern "scary" peppers.  I did have a couple of the "super buffalo" wings at one place, but they were not at the top of their list.

     

    Go ahead, guys.  Impress me! :beer:

    9/15/13 at 9:40pm

    cacio said:



    I don't like stuff that's too hot, so I don't have voluntary experiences to report. I did buy once at a local farmer's market what's touted as the hottest pepper in the world, called naka jolokia, from India. I did not use it to cook, though, so i cannot attest. Apparently, in the region where it's grown in india they do pepper eating competitions. People don't die, but regularly pass out.

     

    My worst experience eating something hot was in a "temple cooking" restaurant in Korea. Tricked by a glowing review in the NYC (presumably by an anorexic journalist), I tried. The food was awful overall, but one of the worst moments was when from the little dishes of steamed weeds I was served, at some point I inserted into my mouth what turned out to be the hottest thing I ever put in. It wasn't red, and I don't know what it was (probably more like a wasabi type of veggie), but I nearly passed out. I wasn't the only one. A few minutes later, from a nearby table with local youths (who had earlier watched the foreigner's mishap with some amusement), I heard a woman scream and the male companions shout for water...

     

    cacio

    9/15/13 at 9:43pm

    badarun said:



    Having grown up in India and preferring to eat the hottest foods - the extreme I've had was a chilli made in Canada with bison & venision meat but with more than a few of the supposedly hottest ghost peppers added in (& lucky us - we weren't aware of this) - best of all, made by an Eastern European immigrant coworker for 2-3 of the S. Asian born staff members at work (knowing our liking for the hot food) - it numbed my tongue after a min & a half & from then on, I felt like I was breathing in & out not air but fire...I love hot food, but I don't think i'll try that ever again; oh & it killed my stomach for 2-3 days as well...Lot of buttermilk (which I hate) helped me recover.

     

    On a regular note, the father of a Carribean friend of mine makes this amazing Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce - pure, unadulterated stuff (no vinegar / salt / tomato / onions etc) - my friend calls us both crazy...This is really hot, but on the bearable scale for me - goes well with anything - particularly burgers, a half spoon of this changes the burger completely. The sauce though is the hottest I would prefer to eat - much hotter than the hottest food I've had in India.

    Hottest in India will be a type of green / red chillies stew sort of thing that my grandmother makes, along with some tamarind in it - the stew as such is a misnomer as there's no meat or any veggies - its just oil + chillies + a little tamarind (raw tamarind & not the tamarind paste). Excluding the Ghost chillies, these will probably be the hottest chillies available in India...I think it's called "Puli Milagai" - transliteration will be tamarind chillies. Compared to the previous 2, this one is about half as hot as the scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

    9/15/13 at 9:44pm

    naylor said:



    Ghost Pepper

    9/15/13 at 9:46pm

    badarun said:



    Called Bhut Jolokia / ghost peppers - this was the one that my colleague surprised us with...Bhut translates to ghost...

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cacio View Post

     touted as the hottest pepper in the world, called naka jolokia, from India

    9/15/13 at 9:47pm

    Redneck Perfumisto said:



    ^ WOW!  That was exactly the kind of story I was looking for!!!  Thank you, cacio!!!

     

    I've had some pretty spicy Korean, but I'd better be careful! :shocked:

    9/15/13 at 9:50pm

    kbe said:



    I don't know if hot sauce is included but it is just about pure premium high grade certified oleroresin capsicum. I tasted a pot of chili made by a friend who had a bottle of this and "put in about a pencil eraser sized amount". I gauged the pot to have had 2 quarts of chili. I could not finish my bowl. I probably ate three bites and thought my mouth had made a trip to the lowest level of  Dante's Inferno. All I can say is this stuff could easily peel layers off a Damascus Steel blade.

     

    My friend 'enjoyed' his bowl or so he said. My take watching him eat it was he died and miraculously revived several times as he ate.

     

    This stuff is so hot you need to drench your mouth in milk after just looking at a picture of it!

     

    Oh, and it is nearly as bad coming out as going in.

     

    http://www.hotsauce.com/One-1-Million-Scoville-Concentrated-Pepper-p/1330ms.htm

    9/15/13 at 9:53pm

    Redneck Perfumisto said:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by badarun View Post
     

    Having grown up in India and preferring to eat the hottest foods - the extreme I've had was a chilli made in Canada with bison & venision meat but with more than a few of the supposedly hottest ghost peppers added in (& lucky us - we weren't aware of this) - best of all, made by an Eastern European immigrant coworker for 2-3 of the S. Asian born staff members at work (knowing our liking for the hot food) - it numbed my tongue after a min & a half & from then on, I felt like I was breathing in & out not air but fire...I love hot food, but I don't think i'll try that ever again; oh & it killed my stomach for 2-3 days as well...Lot of buttermilk (which I hate) helped me recover.

     

    On a regular note, the father of a Carribean friend of mine makes this amazing Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce - pure, unadulterated stuff (no vinegar / salt / tomato / onions etc) - my friend calls us both crazy...This is really hot, but on the bearable scale for me - goes well with anything - particularly burgers, a half spoon of this changes the burger completely. The sauce though is the hottest I would prefer to eat - much hotter than the hottest food I've had in India.

    Hottest in India will be a type of green / red chillies stew sort of thing that my grandmother makes, along with some tamarind in it - the stew as such is a misnomer as there's no meat or any veggies - its just oil + chillies + a little tamarind (raw tamarind & not the tamarind paste). Excluding the Ghost chillies, these will probably be the hottest chillies available in India...I think it's called "Puli Milagai" - transliteration will be tamarind chillies. Compared to the previous 2, this one is about half as hot as the scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

     

    OMG - I don't think I'm missing anything with these ghost peppers.  The idea of burning my stomach for 2-3 days isn't pleasant at all!  Bison chili - no problem.  But not these ghost peppers.  They sound positively scary.

     

    Great stories, badarun - thanks for those!  And thanks for the buttermilk cure - that sounds like the real deal.  Hope I never have to use it!

    9/15/13 at 9:55pm

    badarun said:



    Cacio's issue might have been Wasabi peas - wasabi can be crazy hot as well, on a different note though - i dislike its flavor, so i try to avoid it completely...

    9/15/13 at 9:55pm

    Redneck Perfumisto said:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by naylor View Post
     

    Ghost Pepper

     

    What was it like?  These sound particularly scary.  I doubt that I'll ever try one, so I'm going to have to live vicariously here!

    9/15/13 at 9:58pm

    kalli said:



    Habanero:D. Ok, it was a homemade hot sauce..made with like 4 habanero peppers and not much else. I like spicy food so much, that it was a Christmas gift, a make-your-own hot sauce kit. I went right to the habanero:). When I get pizza...you know those hot pepper containers? I actually unscrew the lid so I can literally pour the red peppers on..a sprinkling doesn't cut it. I don't pour as much on as I used to as my stomach doesn't handle hot as well as before..but I can still hold my own. I made enchiladas for a potluck..people complained they were too hot to eat. lol. Jalepenos aren't bad..they do get hotter if heated up though. Someone grilled a jalepeno..it was like a bacon wrapped one with cream cheese, yum. It was good..pretty hot though!! But good. A basic hot sauce I like is Cholula. If we get wings, we get the hottest sauce...depending on the place..even the hottest sauces may not really be very hot. The hottest salsa we've had is made by a friend of ours from Mexico. He doesn't mess around. His salsa is *hot*. He makes three different batches for the potlucks. Labeling them so ppl know what they are getting into, lol.

     

    Great topic!:D.

    9/15/13 at 9:59pm

    badarun said:



    To add as FYI - a natural remedy that can work for some - if u have ulcers - buy yogurt culture and use goat's milk (boil & cool the milk b4 adding the culture) - let it set - this cures my flaring ulcers time & again...Might not work for everyone though.

    & yes no more Ghost peppers - I love hot food & I'm probably the person among all my family & friends who will take a dare on any hot food - but to eat that ghost peppers is plain stupid - your senses get numbed...

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Redneck Perfumisto View Post
     

     

    OMG - I don't think I'm missing anything with these ghost peppers.  The idea of burning my stomach for 2-3 days isn't pleasant at all!  Bison chili - no problem.  But not these ghost peppers.  They sound positively scary.

     

    Great stories, badarun - thanks for those!  And thanks for the buttermilk cure - that sounds like the real deal.  Hope I never have to use it!

    9/15/13 at 10:01pm

    Redneck Perfumisto said:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kbe View Post
     

    I don't know if hot sauce is included but it is just about pure premium high grade certified oleroresin capsicum. I tasted a pot of chili made by a friend who had a bottle of this and "put in about a pencil eraser sized amount". I gauged the pot to have had 2 quarts of chili. I could not finish my bowl. I probably ate three bites and thought my mouth had made a trip to the lowest level of  Dante's Inferno. All I can say is this stuff could easily peel layers off a Damascus Steel blade.

     

    My friend 'enjoyed' his bowl or so he said. My take watching him eat it was he died and miraculously revived several times as he ate.

     

    This stuff is so hot you need to drench your mouth in milk after just looking at a picture of it!

     

    Oh, and it is nearly as bad coming out as going in.

     

    http://www.hotsauce.com/One-1-Million-Scoville-Concentrated-Pepper-p/1330ms.htm

     

    This is scary stuff.  I looked up those ghost peppers, and they have basically the same rating as this - a million.  Three bites???  OMG.

     

    No way am I touching this stuff.  NO WAY!!!  There are some things that need to be left to the experts.  I loved one comment by some guy - "finally, something that makes me sweat again!" LOLOLOLOL

    9/15/13 at 10:02pm

    kalli said:



    Oh ya, I loooove wasabi!

    9/15/13 at 10:02pm

    cacio said:



    Good that I didn't try to eat my bhut jolokia then! (I tried to grow plants, but the seeds didn't germinate).

     

    Wasabi peas? another thing I was not aware of. Not that the servers there told us anyway - it was a menu fixe. Luckily, after I regained consciousness, they didn't have any longer lasting effect on the stomach.

     

    Has anybody heard of progress in using capsaicin as a pain killer (not ingested by mouth, that is)? Its numbing properties seem to be quite peculiar and useful. Will we be rubbing bhut jolokia on arthritic knees?

     

    cacio