England Now Has The Hottest Pepper In The World

[Chuckwagon]

Is there a pepper so hot it may not be consumed? Yes, there is! And it has been developed by the fine folks in England!
Until recently, the red savina habanero has been the hottest pepper in existence and it could fuel a rocket! It is just one of more than 200 varieties of chiles. The hottest habanero is about 577,000 Scoville heat units - a point so hot and destructive to the taste buds that taste is no longer an issue as it simply is no longer a flavor. Shucks pards, the Scotch bonnet, a cultivar of the habanero, contains up to 325,00 SHU, causes dizziness, numbness of hands and cheeks, and severe gastro-intestinal disorder. It may also cause a person to angrily refer to the male offspring of a female dog.

Now, following four years of hybrid development, the Dorset Naga, cultivated and sold exclusively by Michael and Joy Michaud of Dorchester, England, is the hottest pepper in the world, having a blistering 923,000 SHU! This pepper is so hot it must absolutely not be consumed directly. A chef in Bangladesh said he merely holds the pepper by its stalk and touches food with it. He added, “It has a refreshing smell and a very good taste but you’ve go to know what you’re doing or you can hurt someone”.

My cousin, “Iron Mike” just leaks testosterone! He somehow believes the test of a “real man” is to eat hot peppers without breaking out into a sweat. Then he is dumb enough to brag about doing it! If you get snookered into a hot pepper eatin’ contest with a big gorilla named “Iron Mike”, just remember that capsaicin is poorly soluble in water, though it is lipophilic (soluble in fat). In fact, the least effective way to relieve the blistering sensation in the mouth is to drink water. (it spreads the capsaicin around). Respectively, yogurt, ice cream, or milk, become more effective remedies for the mouth and throat. In an emergency, I certainly would not hesitate to wash the eye with milk. So, sit back, keep your fingers away from your eyes, choke down a few hot jalapenos with garlic, serranos with raw onion and pepperoni, an ancho or two on a slice of jalapeno cheese, and then gulp down a beer, enjoying the endorphins! If it is too hot to handle - eat yogurt and drink milk!
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon

[wheels]

I don't know whether it was the Doset Nago - but a chef's death was investigated as it was thought to be due to eating a hot pepper:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -bet.html#

Phiol

[saucisson]

I have a Naga sitting in my fridge at the moment, sealed in a ziplock plastic bag. I may well leave it there

[Mike D]

You may want to have a look here...


http://www.dorsetnaga.com/


Ouch !!

Make sure you wash your hands before going to the loo !!

[Mike D]

Just another update...the Dorset Naga chilli is now being sold in Tesco £0.79 for 10g, which is about 3. I have just come across them doing my online shop - I'm tempted, but I'd better not !

[wheels]

Do they come with a health warning?

[Mike D]

That is a valid point Phil, the only obvious warning is the number of 'flames' on the packet...see below.




Maybe the packet is polythene/asbestos mix

[wheels]

The trouble as I see it is that you're going to get so much heat, with so little chilli, that there won't be much chilli flavour in whatever you cook with it.

Many people in this country look on chilli as only adding heat, but certainly in traditional Indian cookery (among others), it adds a lot of flavour as well.

Our US friends seem better informed; I note that many of their recipes actually specify a type (or types) of chilli, something I've not seen in UK recipes.

Phil

[Mike D]

I do agree with you. The general consensus here is that chilli = heat. I view it as adding flavour, and would prefer to match a chilli to dish rather than just throw it in to make it hot.

One of the plants we have is a Red Habanero, and whilst I find it very hot I do find it has a great flavour, and of all, I prefer scotch bonnets as I do like the taste of these.

[Mike D]

Just an update on the safety stuff - I did buy some and on the pack in very small print it says "DO NOT TOUCH WITHOUT GLOVES. SKIN IRRITANT. AVOID CONTACT WITH EYES. WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY AFTER PREPARATION"

[schlafsack]

I used the naga in a chilli a few years ago. Although small and very very hot, it does have a really pleasant, strong flavour that you could taste through the other spices.

[Richierich]

Just had a look on the website, it's HFW's veg growing buddy from many series ago of River Cottage. I want to say he is American, but for fear of upsetting any Canadians, let's say he is from North America somewhere.

[hotgoblin]

have about 6 six inch high plants if anyones in my area and wants to pick one up give me a shout wife will be glad to get some space back chilli plants have taken over her best room ha ha

[saucisson]

Bit too far for me but thanks for the offer. I made a chilli con carne last night gosh those things are hot. I scraped the seeds out for planting, then touched the tip of the knife to my tongue and nearly blew the back of my head off. I dissected out a small sliver about 2cm by 5mm and used that , the rest went back in the fridge

This morning my son was making sandwiches and asked which knife was safe to use... I assured him the knife that I used to hold the chilli still while slicing it with another should be safe but to be sure I ran my finger down the side of it and licked it, bad mistake as the back of my head flew off

The chilli con carne was very nice by the way, with a warm chilli kick at the back of the throat so that you knew there was chilli there but without the fire on the tongue that I was expecting from my earlier encounter.

Re: planting, should I plant the seeds now (on a sunny windowsill) or dry them out and plant next year?

Dave

[hotgoblin]

stop it dave my sides are killing me it even made the daughter laugh

save seeds till early spring at least we should see more sun im hoping these will be ready for xmas .
Chocolate chili who dont i like