The world's hottest pepper "Carolina Reaper"

The world's hottest pepper has been chosen and it is South Carolina's "Carolina Reaper," a waxy red capsicum the size of a golf ball.

The Guinness Book of World Records said farmer Ed Currie's pepper is the fieriest in the world, measuring an average of 1,569,300 Scoville Units.

In comparison, a jalapeno meaures about 5,000 to 8,000 Scoville Units. Zero is bland porridge.

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Hot Pepper Sauce Recipe Video

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Chipotle de Plata Seasoning by Tio Pablo

This mix captures the essence of Mexican campfire cuisine using smoked Chipotle chile, juniper berries and lime zest. A smokey, woody flavoured seasoning mix with hints of juniper, brazilnut and mesquite.

A favourite hot spice mix of the Mexican cowboy and ideal for barbeques. Each 50gm pack is good for 3 meals.

The price is $ 6.20 per 50gm bag + shipping.

This seasoning is amazing you have to get some, I love it, and will be making sure it is always in the cupboard

See Tio Pablo

Hot to trot

Mustard and chillis are both hot, but the burning sensation from a chilli stays in the mouth for ages while the sensation from hot mustard disappears in a few seconds. Why is this?

The chemical mainly responsible for the burning spice in chilli peppers is capsaicin, a complicated organic compound that binds to receptors in your mouth and throat, producing the desired (or dreaded) sensation.

Capsaicin is an oil, almost completely insoluble in water. This is why you need a fat-containing substance like milk to wash it away - watery saliva doesn't do the trick.

On the other hand, the compound responsible for the hotness of mustard (as well as horseradish and wasabi) is called allyl isothiocyanate. This chemical is slightly water-soluble, and can be more readily washed away into the stomach by saliva.

Further, the chemical in mustard is more volatile than capsaicin so it evaporates more readily, allowing its fumes to enter the nasal passages (explaining why the burning sensation from mustard is often felt in the nose). These fumes can be easily removed by breathing deeply, a useful strategy if the sensation becomes overwhelming.

Zachary Vernon, Toronto, Canada

Other answers to this question

A Hot Sauce Alternative to Tabasco

Hot Sauce

1 2oz.-pkg of chiles de arbol
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
¾ cup distilled white vinegar
Water

1. Remove stems from chiles and place the chiles in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until the chiles are very soft.

2. Remove the chiles from saucepan and place in blender or food processor. Let them cool.

3. Add garlic, salt, pepper and about ¼ cup of water and puree.

4. Add vinegar and blend.

The result is a vibrant red sauce studded with seeds.

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D.I.Y. Hot Sauce

When you’ve got 15 spare minutes and the color is where you want it, put on a pair of rubber gloves and get out the blender. After you rinse the chiles, chop the stem off each (I use scissors), get rid of any bad spots, and drop them into the container of the machine. You can core them and clean out the seeds, but why bother? This stuff is going to be hot no matter what you do.

Pour in enough white vinegar to submerge the chiles, along with a handful of salt. Puree until quite smooth. Transfer the sauce to a pot and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Seriously: at no time during either of these steps do you want your nose or eyes anywhere near the fumes that waft from these vessels. Funnel the sauce into a clean jar or bottle and cool. Then cover with a cloth napkin and let the mixture sit at room temperature for three days, undisturbed. Carefully pour off all but a thin layer of the vinegar (which true enthusiasts save for another use) and refrigerate.

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Top 3 "Must Have" Hot Chilli Sauces for New Zealanders

Hot and spicey food is very un-New Zealand, but there are more and more of us spicing up our lives. Over the last year or so I have started my hunt for hot sauces available in New Zealand. Here is a mini-list of 3 hot sauces I must have on hand at all times

1. Orcona Chipotle (this makes pizza magical)

2. Huffman's Hot Sauce (infinitely better then Tabasco)

3. Waha Wera Kiwifruit & Habanero (available at New Worlds, I personally don't like kiwifruit flavour that much, but this is amazing)

As I work my way through other hot chilli sauces I discover around New Zealand I will add to this list.

Other chilli condiments worthy of a mention:

Orcona - Pickled Jalapenos, Harissa, and Red Hot Rocoto Relish
Jonathan's Spices - Chilli Rock Salt and Smoked Chilli Oil

Chef dies after eating 'super hot' chilli

An aspiring chef died after eating a "super hot" chilli sauce in a competition with his girlfriend's brother, an inquest in England has heard.

"Andrew just ate the chillies with a plate of Dolmio sauce. It was not a proper meal because he had already eaten lamb chops and potato mash after work," she said.

"He apparently got into bed at 2.30am and started scratching all over. His girlfriend ... woke up and he had gone. It is incredible. Who would have thought he could have died from eating chilli sauce?"

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Chile Peppers: The Science Behind The Spice

Science Friday broadcasts this week from the heart of the "chili belt" in Tuscon, Ariz. What makes peppers spicy? Why do some people love spicy foods? Researchers explain the chemistry of peppers and the psychology of spice.

Growing peppers isn't a low-tech task — farmers explain what goes into getting jalapenos from seed to shelf, and how science helps them to do it.

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Capsaicinoid will bind with pain receptor in your mouth

So what really makes those "hot spicy hunter" still consuming chili? Chili contained several chemical agent, collectively called capsaicinoids. When you consuming spicy food, capsaicinoid will bind with pain receptor in your mouth, tongue, and throat. This reaction will triggers burning sensation in your mouth cavity, increasing your heart rate and perspiration, and obviously releasing endorphins to your brain. Endorphins produce excitement feeling, sense of well being, light analgesia (pain relieve). This excitement feeling will recorded in your deep memory, and causing the "chili addiction" to "hot spicy hunter" group.

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World’s Hottest Hot Sauce

Lazar's taste buds are almost immune to the heating sensation of his creations but he still remembers his first taste of the incredible '16 Million Reserve'. He declares that the pain was unbearable and in his words it was like the hammer was brutally hitting his tongue. More so his tongue had swelled up for days to come. If you might be wandering how the name for the above creation has derived then you must know that the inspiration came from pure capsaicin, which has a heat score of 16 million units.

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How To Cut a Chile Pepper

Mahalo Daily: Tears of Joy Hot Sauce Shop (Time: 4:22)

[REVIEW] Nanric Road - Tomato 'N Chilli Mustard

Nanric Road are based in the Bay of Plenty and they make a huge range of condiments. I was given some Tomato N Chilli Mustard as a gift at Christmas.

Jar size: 130gm, glass
Ingredients: Mustard 68%, Vinegar, Honey, Tomato, Chilli
Best Before: 08/08
Refrigerate after opening

I like whole grain mustards as a spread on sandwiches and on BBQ'ed meats, but not obsessed about them, and only occasionally will have it. This jar sat around for at least a month, possibly six weeks before I tried it.

Well was I shocked I assumed it would have just a little chilli burn, wrong. You know there is chilli in this mustard, awesome. Once I had had a taste it was like I was trying to find meals and food where I could add this spread. I was having it every day with lunch and most evening meals. I finished the jar off rather quickly.

If you like mustard and like chilli's you have to give this a go.

It's not a Hot Sauce but a product with chilli in it with burn so it is still worthy for a 8.5/10 Get some, try it.

Fresh Habanero's For Sale at Fruit World

Found fresh Habanero's for sale at Fruit World from KUMAN of Te Kauwhata. They are available in a plastic punnet, with about 10 or 12 Orange Habanero's each for $2.99.

These have been seen at two Fruit World locations in Auckland.

[REVIEW] HOLA! Mexican

At the weekend on Easter Monday, when everything seemed to be closed, we found that HOLA! Mexican was open in Parnell.

I got a Burrito for takeaway, it came with sides of salsa, guacamole, and jalapeños. It took about 15 mins, and was $3.50 more that Mexicali Fresh but the tortilla seemed fresher, and the shredded beef was nicer, so offered similar value for money. And it did go very well with the new Epic Lager and a lovely evening at the Domain.

Harvest Sunday

I harvested another 40 Tabasco chilli's from the six Tabasco plants I have, looks like I am going to net about a dozen chilli's from each plant.

Also I harvested my first ripe Habanero (see picture)

Gringo Killer - Oratia Farmers Market

Last weekend the weather was horrible, but today it was glorious. So I headed out to the Oratia Farmers Market in west Auckland.

The main motivator was because they had a stand selling "Chilli Preserves", Gringo Killer.

Gringo Killer has an extensive range of hot chilli sauces which I tried to sample all of them but once the burn builds it is hard to judge the flavours. The hot chilli sauces were in 330ml bottles and priced at $15.00.

I got a bottle of Big Conjones Chilli Sauce made with Habaneros. Product shot and tasting notes to follow.

Once I work my way though this I will need to get some samples of the other products to try.

Check out the website - Gringo Killer

[REVIEW] - Chilli & Tomato Sauce by Urban Appetite

I thought I better get started on the reviews of the hot sauces I have been trying. Today I had one that I have a strong opinion of, and it isn't positive.

FROM THE LABEL:

Brand: Urban Appetite
Product: Chilli & Tomato Sauce
Bottle: 250ml

Ingredients: Tomatoes(65%), white vinegar, water, onions, chilli powder (1%), salt, sugar, canola oil, herbs, spices.

Serving Suggestions: Use with barbecued meats or to marinate prawns before grilling. Drizzle over potato wedges and top with sour cream.

Made in New Zealand by Wild Appetite Ltd, 40 Taradale Grove, North Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand

Best Before - 24 Aug 09

I was given this as a gift, as friends and family know I and a chilli head. I was excited to try something new.

Well on the initial try I was seriously underwhelmed , actually to the point of being disappointed.

This tasted like someone had gone into the spice cabinet and pulled out the old herbs and spices and dumped them into some tomato sauce. The focus being on some old chilli powder. It is one dimensional tomato sauce with just a hit of stale chilli powder.

I left is a few weeks and tried it again today, and it is just a poor product to the point I have thrown the 80% full bottle away (recylcing the bottle of course).

The food technologist that created this should be fired, or maybe the marketing/accountants driving the new product specifications should be. It is a shame that most of these products from Wild Appetite are probably given as gifts, especially if this is what you get.

Rating: 1/10 (the one for the fact they used chilli, maybe it should be 0 as it was a sad use of chilli)

(for a poor product I haven't made much effort for a product shot)

Chilli In My Garden 2008

Tabasco - has been my first to ripen, now the leaves are looking a bit yellow-ish

Jalapeno - just about ready, with lots of big fruit

Habanero - got some good size fruit, but is still flowering like crazy

Rocoto - was late to go in, and just started flowering (nice little purple flowers) so don't guess I will get many this year from it, hope it makes it though the winter