There are people that like "spicy" food and then there are real chili heads. I have met many of people who claim to love spicy food but think franks red hot is super spicy. That stuff is like tomato soup to a chili head. My wife, family, friends, and coworkers all say that I am not normal and that something is wrong with me. It was a relief to find an entire community of my species.

Some of us discovered that we are inhuman long before discovering the "blister test". I caution you, reveal no more to these soft-mouthed ape people. They are practiced at lynching.

Dennis

@ Smokemaster I doubt many of our ilk would be impressed by me consuming a mere Habanero . Choking down a scorpion or ghost, or even nibbling on one in an overly rapid fashion would be much more impresssive and I'm not quite up to that yet !! I'm workin' on it though !!

@DMForcier There were some other signs beforehand, but that was just a reckless display of my alien nature !!

P.S The mothership will arrive next Tuesday at 3p.m. :)

Here's a funny story going the opposite way. This past spring i had about 1000 extra superhot plants after i planted all i could and gave my friends all they wanted. So i figured i would place an ad in the local bargin hunter and try and recoup some of the time and money i put into them instead of letting them go to waste. Most people that called knew of ghosts and thought they were the hottest but never heard of Bhuts. Anyway, one guy called. I asked what he was looking for, i could tell he was young, in his early 20's he didn't know any of the names and i warned him but he reassured me he wanted the hottest. His words were "don't worry i eat really hot sh#t". So i gave him my address, he shows up and the neighbor and i were sitting in my garage just having a few beers. After the neighbor warned him about my stuff and he was also told "i eat hot sh#t" i decided to let him sample some hot sh#t. So i got out a some pickled superhots. He all macho asked which were the hottest. I told him the brown which are douglahs. He grabbed a peice popped it in his mouth and i thought he has gonna die. He didn't even ask for a drink. He ran straight to my pool and started scooping water out with his hands and drinking it. I wish i had it on video to share. But i will never forget it. Funny as hell. He learned the hard way what hot sh#t is. LOL

scorpion-john, I guess he learned what hell was. I needed a good laugh and I am sitting here at almost three in the morning laughing so hard the cats came running to see what was wrong with their alien mother. I went out with friends and we were sampling some of the hot sauces they had out and my friend kept telling them none would be hot enough for me. They brought some ghost chili sauce out, I put some on a spoon and tasted it. I put some on a tortilla chip and tasted it and then picked up the small cup and drank it. I thought everyone in the building was going to have a heart attack. Someone yelled call 911. I calmly wiped my mouth and asked then who need medical attention. Their only comment was-whatever you do please do not fart because we do not wish the building to burn down. Whimps!

Love the stories. I like eating peppers but even a Hab is way beyond my ability to consume. It is funny how super hots are ALWAYS hotter than you imagine them to be, even though you have tried them before. After I have "tasted" one, it doesn't take long before I forget just how really hot they are and how much pain they cause. I keep thinking the next time I taste one, it "can't be that hot". But it always is. hahaha

And when I say taste, I am talking about a piece the size of a BB.

I have a question for the super hot eaters. Is it just a natural ability to eat them or did you have to work up to them over a very long period of time?
Bruce

Bruce, it's not a natural ability for me. They still hurt me and i eat alot of them. I think i am addicted to the rush the pain causes. I guess you build up a tolerance though, i eat alot bigger peices now.

Good story John. Concerning people hearing about Ghosts and not knowing about Bhuts. I can't tell you how many times I get that at the herb fairs. "I'm looking for Ghost peppers, but it seems you don't carry them." "yes I do, these right here, they are Bhut Jolokias."... "No, I want a Ghost pepper." But what I like even better are the ones that go to my friend who sells sweet and say, I want a green pepper, I do NOT want red. If you explain to them that they all will turn red when they ripen, you get the most blank stares. Then the arguments starts, I want green! My friend has stopped trying to explain and just says, here this is green.
Pam

I love stories like these. It is one thing to be ignorant and learn, but to be ignorant and so sure of yourself is annoying.
Like after explaining to a lady how I'm growing pepper plants under artificial lights this winter and she says in a condescending way, "Pepper plants only live one year, that's why they're called 'ANNUALS'". I just got done explaining how they can live many years, but I guess she knows more than me.
I had another person tell me they eat jalapenos like chips and even eat "chili peppers" that way. I was going to ask what kind of pepper a "chili" pepper was, but I didn't want to get into a conversation with him. Do y'all know what a "chili" pepper is and the heat ranking of them?

then if it is still going on here is the best challenge of all here in central Florida. Maybe us locals should all gather there and cheer each other on as we gasp for our lives. *giggle* Inferno Soup Challenge at NitallyâÂÂs Thai Mex Cuisine - For the spicy-fond out there, the Inferno Soup Challenge will definitely test your limits of just how hot you can handle. Made with fresh ghost pepper (the hottest in the world), a dozen others including three varieties of habenero. This ainâÂÂt no tiny bowl either; the thing comes in a vessel the size of a sink. Sign a legal waiver, finish in 30 minutes or less, and youâÂÂll win, get this, $1,000, a THOUSAND smackeroos! No oneâÂÂs finished yet and the competition ends after 100 people have tried, so get there ASAP for your shot at the prize.

I can see someone eating a single ghost but I am sure the "soup" is simply a bunch of them all ground up with a couple other super hots and then cooked for a while. It would be close to being like pouring pepper spray down your throat for a half hour. If it was only 8 oz or so, a guy could just chug it and then deal with the pain for a while, but a huge bowl would require repeating the pain over and over. Then, I cannot even imagine the after affects an hour or two later.
That would be a fun event to watch though.

It might even be the sheer amount of it ! If I'm eating something hot or super hot, once I get adjusted to the heat level, I can plow through. I'm not a big eater though, I don't know if I could eat a "sink sized" container of anything. I guess that's part of the challenge though, right ?

So, one of the shop guys just stepped into my office earlier today all wide eyed. He is telling me of a rumor of someone eating a pepper 200 times hotter than a jalapeno. He told me he doubted the story. It couldn't be possible.

I calmly explained that if a jal was rated at 5000SHU (and that is generous), 200x5000 is only 1,000,000. I reached in my desk drawer and pulled out my bag of Butch T/ Bhut powder blend and explained that that bag was quite a bit hotter with all the Butch Ts in there. Did he want to try some? :-)

He declined my offer.

every time someone tells me they can eat the hottest of the hot, I offer them some of my brain strain hot sauce (one of my milder recipes). it usually ends the same way, with them asking if I have anything to drink.

I'm not a fire eater like many of you on here by any means though. if I eat a whole hab I still make hilarious faces, and lots of sad sounds. but I still love the flavors of the superhots. but cut me some slack, this time last year I made hilarious faces if I took a bite of a jalapeno. I'm making progress.

In response to kuvaszlvr's post about how all the peppers turn red, is that true? Do all peppers eventually turn red? Every one that I've grown has.
A guy at work noticed a bag of peppers on the counter today. We looked into it and he asked what kind they were. Since I think it is funny to spit out smart-sounding words, I said, "It looks like some sort of Capsicum Annuum". He said, "What?" and looked in the bag and said, "Oh - they're just green peppers." I told him all peppers start out green and eventually turn red. He asked if I'm full of crap and I said, "I'm not sure, but I think that is true."

Well, technically no. Some ripen to yellow or brown - or whatever. But AFAIK none ripen to green. Peppers that we commonly eat green the farmer just didn't want to wait for the color change.

Dennis

As for the tolerance issue, I liken it to nitrous oxide - like at the dentist. I recall having my wisdom teeth out and my teeth have deep roots so they were in there with pliers trying to pry out the bits.

It hurt like hell - but I JUST DIDN'T CARE. Maybe NO2 stimulates the endorphine rush without the pain...

Dennis

DM and others, yes, there are peppers that ripen green, the same as there are green when ripe tomatoes. The beta carotene bio pathway in pepper is nearly identical with the pathway in tomato. If a gene blocks the carotenes, you get either a green when ripe if it has the chlorophyll accumulator gene or else you get a translucent white when ripe.

I'll see if I can dig out some seed. I've seen them around somewhere.

> "P.S The mothership will arrive next Tuesday at 3p.m."

Well known. The lingering question is *where*? If it stops at the Moon like last time we are screwed.

P.S. No peppers on the Moon.

I've been cooking with habaneros since college, at least, and I love them. But I am going to try my first superhots next year. I already know I'm scared. :)

Angie

Angie, why wait? Email me. I have some Carolina Reapers growing in my basement. I can send you a few and seeds for next year. John

I should have been more accurate loweride, when we were discussing the peppers ripening red, we were discussing the green bells. People were wanting green bells, but I don't know of any green bells that do not eventually ripen to red. Not all peppers ripen to red though.
Pam

they were really gathering peppers !!!

kuvaszlvr, There are lots of bell peppers that have an unripe green phase and ripen to something else besides red. Many ripen yellow or orange. You can find some among those in the grocery store. However, there are also some that ripen brown, and potentially other colors, too (though they may be harder to find).

Of course humans are all "aliens," but science has finally imaged the receptor that is the root of the hot and spicy sensation:

http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/spicy-first-views-of-the-wasabi-receptor/81251131

Now, the question is, how did Homo evolve this receptor, and why?

Enquiring Minds Must Know...

Kinda cool to see this thread is still going on .

I work with someone who can truly take the heat. He ate one of my first Bhut Jolokias last summer and made the face I'd make while eating Taco Bell hot sauce. I thought my ghost was weak, so I tried a piece and it was NOT weak. Later, he ate my Trinidad Douglahs and Trinidad Moruga Scorpions and STILL didn't make a face. He said, "They're hot, but not unbearable." This guy must be missing some receptors. :)

Shule(about 4a) kuvaszlvr,
There are lots of bell peppers that have an unripe green phase and
ripen to something else besides red. Many ripen yellow or orange. You
can find some among those in the grocery store. However, there are also
some that ripen brown, and potentially other colors, too (though they
may be harder to find

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Cascabells start green, >>yellow >>> Orange >>> RED.
I think orange and yellow bell peppers, if left longer on the vine will turn red, similar to cascabell, . I could be wrong

Seysonn

Only some peppers are like that (but it is true that some peppers are like that). Not all of them ripen red. And not all peppers that ripen red have a yellow or orange phase.