Friday, June 17, 2011






















World's Hottest Chili Peppers continued...


Scoville Heat Rating

  • Jalapeno - 3,500-8,000
  • Fatali - 125,000-325,000 ...origin Africa
  • Habanero - 200,000-350,000 ...origin Mexico
  • Scotch Bonnet - 200,000-350,000 ...origin Caribbean
  • Chocolate Habanero - 450,000 ...origin Jamaica
  • Ghost 'Bhut Jolokia' - 1,000,000 ...origin India
  • Infinity - 1,000,000 ...developed in England
  • Naga Viper - 1,300,000 ...developed in England
  • Trinidad Scorpion Butch T - 1,400,000 ...developed in Australia
  • Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - 2,000,000 ...origin Trinidad

Three things to remember when you're handling hot peppers are:

  1. Don't rub your eyes
  2. Handle peppers by their stems
  3. Keep out of reach of childre

...and if you're a guy, be sure to wash your hands before relieving yourself (unpleasant surprises await you otherwise).

For those of you that find jalapeno peppers hot enough, it's hard to imagine a pepper with at least 250 times more heat. I relish a lot of heat in my food and enjoy habanero and scotch bonnet hot sauces with no discomfort. The hotter varieties like the ghost, infinity, naga viper, trinidad scorpion butch t and trinidad moruga scorpion chili peppers are scorching hot. Not for the faint of heart...

Most of the heat in chili peppers is located in the seeds. Remove the seeds if you find the experience too painful.


How to buy Chili Peppers:

I recommend placing a produce bag over your hand (2 is better) when choosing any type of hot pepper. Try to handle peppers by their stems because even with a plastic bag over your hand, some of the residue on the skin can be absorbed onto your fingers. Wash your hands afterwards.

Green stems are the best indicator of freshness. Ripe chili peppers (sweet pepper varieties too) are hard and firm when they're picked correctly. Soft chilies have been picked improperly or are overripe. Inspect peppers closely for visual defects, green color on these varieties is a sign of immaturity. Sunburn, cracked, mold, black spotting and wetness are signs of poor quality. Hold a pepper up to your nose and if it smells pungent, there may be a quality problem.

There are so many varieties of hot peppers out there, remember they come in all different colors, shapes and sizes. Look deformed, ugly or just plain weird.

If you're planning on drying your chilies make sure they're fresh. After all you're going to be putting these in your mouth. Dried or fresh, a bad pepper is still a bad pepper.

I used to play jokes on my customers and rub the juice of hot peppers on cut fruit samples. It was hilarious to watch their surprise and their faces turn color as the heat took effect. I know... not a nice guy. Well I always made it up to them in some way and we could laugh about it later. Below... an insane video from "Ted The Fire Breathing Idiot" and it is quite graphic. He actually vomits and starts to bleed from his nose after eating 10 ghost peppers.



10 GHOST PEPPER IN 10 MINUTES - Warning very Graphic

Enjoy and please leave any hot pepper comments below...

5 comments:

  1. Do you sale Scotch Bonnet Peppers or Ghost Chile Peppers?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No I do not, but if you tell me your location I can list a few stores that do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I drove 52 miles to a Whole Foods store who after I called said they indeed had scotch bonnet peppers, (for my Jamaican jerk chicken). Upon arrival they pointed at the everyday Mexican Habanero. I explained to the gentleman that they were from the same pepper family but in no way the same in flavor and many times heat. I could have drove less than 5 minutes to my local store for those rascals which I will do today since I cannot find any fresh SB's! He did give me a free bag of dried Hab's for my trouble. I live in the Jacksonville Florida area...any suggestions of who may carry these tasty little boogers? Any suggestions for purchasing them in a bag online? Thank you very much for your time...Cheers! Bill Hughes

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Bill,

    I would suggest visiting a Jamaican or Caribbean grocery store. When I was an off-shore buyer I used to purchase all my scotch bonnet peppers weekly from Jamaica. It has been my experience that Jamaicans cannot live without their scotch bonnets. Lol! Here's a few listings you could call and if they don't carry scotch bonnets... Someone there should be able to advise where they can be purchased locally.

    Phase 1 Jamaican Products & Grocery
    2826 N. Main Street
    904-354-0494
    Jacksonville

    Meme Caribbean Food Store
    1515 Cesery Boulevard
    904-745-9254
    Jacksonville

    Caribbean Grocery Mart
    10909 Atlantic Boulevard
    904-996-0106
    Jacksonville

    DMJ Caribbean Food Store
    5501 Beach Boulevard
    904-398-5006
    Jacksonville

    Thanks for visiting my blog and good hunting!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Could you please suggest a store near me that sells scotch bonnet peppers? I live in the 19054 zip code.. Pennsylvania. Thank you

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting the Produce Blog, I can be reached directly at info@produceblog.co if you require an immediate reply to your questions.