I’ve been following the mad race that seems to be going on to develop the hottest chile. I am currently growing the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T strain chile, the current Guinness Book record holder weighing in at ~1.4 million Scoville units. But it looks like it is now being challenged by the Trinidad Morouga/Brain Strain chile, and now the Carolina Reaper. Funnily, and perhaps, pathetically, there is some dissension among certain growers. Accusations of “numbers fudging”, “slightly changing the chile’s name”…are some of the charges waged by certain Aussie growers. Oh well. Here’s a couple of vids concerning the Carolina Reaper. I’ll be ordering some of these seeds for sure.
I’m growing some bhut jolokia because someone gave me seeds, but I’m with Denny. One pepper would be fun for the novelty of it, but when one pepper overwhelms a pot of chili . . .
I would think one bhut jolokia, would take over a vat of chili. A garden center by me was selling little “ghost chili” plants and I was tempted to buy one, but then I realized instead trying to grow them, I could just shoot cop grade pepper spray in my mouth. I love hot and spicy food, but over 1,000,000 SHU…
I’m growing the Scorpion partly for fun, and to make a sauce with. There are a couple of ex-Army guys at my work barking about wanting to eat a whole Butch T Scorpion. It will be a lot of fun. I’ve also become aware that some of the regular chile eaters you find on youtube are eating these chiles for the endorphin rush. Sick…
I can’t imagine how hot they are. The hottest I’ll go is the merciless peppers of Quetzalacatenango…grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.
The problem I had with Yellow Hungarians could have been caused by the conditions I grew them in. I lived in Lincoln, NE and had a very productive garden but it can get hot and dry there in late summer.
We made chili one afternoon and put less than 1/2 a pepper and only a few seeds in 1.5 gallons of chili. We thought we were going to die when we tasted it. I’d swear it could have peeled paint off a car and it just kept getting hotter. We gave a few peppers away but no one ever asked for more. ;) Maybe I should give them another try.
“The Moruga is a great value because you can use one or two a week to heat up all of your meals. It also makes delicious Hot Sauces and can be used as a garden pest repellent…or to strip your garage floor.”
I put about 2oz of dried African Bird’s Eye chiles in a kilo batch of hot pork sausage a couple months ago. The delicious sausages are so fiery they can cause gastric disturbance in a major way. I ate two sausages and spent the rest of the week swearing they would never be made that way again!
I’m in the Habanero camp. While packing a considerable punch they have a great flavor and I like a small amount in salsa. Jalapeños, unless you get the rare hot crop just don;t cut it anymore.
Habs are great in moderation but are often too hot for me. Awesome flavor and not too bad if you strip out the seeds and ribs. I don’t think Salvador Molly’s does that for their Great Balls of Fire though. Talk about gastric disturbance!
Seeding the Habaneros does cut the heat by quite a bit while retaining that great tropical flavor (you can use more that way). Still can make your lips numb though. 8)
Im a fan of habaneros too. I also like to use scotch bonnets. I like that they are sweeter than habaneros but still hot. I like to use them especially when making Jamaican beef patties or other Caribbean foods.
I have a few Trinidad Scorpion Butch T plants that I started way too late in the season- mid June. I’ll be moving them inside to keep them alive and ready for next year’s growing season, which starts about mid April here in southern Alabama.
A chili pod eating competition among drunken friends will most likely take place next year if anybody’s interested.
I like habaneros myself, but even they are so potent that it’s not worth my while to grow them. I just can’t effectively use the full yield from a plant of them. Serranos are typically my go-to heat source.
