My co-worker is evil

[Crossbow]

Either that, or he owns stock in Zantac.

He came into work this morning with a small bag full of home grown Carolina Reaper peppers. He was handing out these little red balls of pure pain to anyone that wanted one.

Yes, I took one, but for Mrs. Crossbow's boss. He's a "stupid hot" lover, not me. I don't mind heat, but I draw the line at around 250,000 on the Scoville scale. I'm not touching something that starts at 1.5 million.

He's got at least 15 more on that plant, and 2 additional plants as well. That's not including the 3 Ghost Pepper plants and the two Trinidad Scorpion plants.

[Victory Sabre]

I might be willing to try it, though they might be too stron gfor me.

[Aria]

Just a tiny bit would make my curry POP.

[Aragarthiel]

I wish I could try things like that but I've got acid reflux to the point that sometimes water gives me heartburn, I don't want to burn a hole in my esophagus.

[dendawg]

The strongest I can do currently is Chipotle Tabasco. Yea I know, I'm a lightweight.

[Crossbow]

I might be willing to try it, though they might be too stron gfor me.

If you've never had anything stronger than a habanero, work your way up. Ghost peppers and above tend to linger in the pain. I did try a fresh Ghost once, and it was a milder one. The pain stuck around for the better part of the day.

Just a tiny bit would make my curry POP.

A tiny bit would make your curry EXPLODE.

[Aria]

If you've never had anything stronger than a habanero, work your way up. Ghost peppers and above tend to linger in the pain. I did try a fresh Ghost once, and it was a milder one. The pain stuck around for the better part of the day.



A tiny bit would make your curry EXPLODE.

The local Mucho Burrito had 'ghost pepper' burritos a while ago. I HAD to try it... and I was sadly disappointed. The ghost pepper in there must have been microscopic. It wasn't even hot!

[Crossbow]

The local Mucho Burrito had 'ghost pepper' burritos a while ago. I HAD to try it... and I was sadly disappointed. The ghost pepper in there must have been microscopic. It wasn't even hot!

Most places, unless they're known for doing really spicy foods, barely put any ghost pepper into what they've labeled as "ghost pepper X." They're trying to cash in on a fad without getting sued. That, or the pepper has been cooked so long that it's lost most of its potency.

I just tried some of the raw reaper. Holy crap. The same coworker made a batch of "Four Horsemen Chili" a few years ago. Ghost Pepper, Serrano, Scotch Bonnet, and Aji Limon peppers by the handfull. I had a full bowl of that. Licking the oil off my fingers from the Reaper had me running for the water.


Fear the Reaper. Seriously.

[wolfie]

The local Mucho Burrito had 'ghost pepper' burritos a while ago. I HAD to try it... and I was sadly disappointed. The ghost pepper in there must have been microscopic. It wasn't even hot!

Most places, unless they're known for doing really spicy foods, barely put any ghost pepper into what they've labeled as "ghost pepper X." They're trying to cash in on a fad without getting sued. That, or the pepper has been cooked so long that it's lost most of its potency.

If you've never had anything stronger than a habanero, work your way up. Ghost peppers and above tend to linger in the pain.

You know how a lot of chains have the "get a stamp for each purchase, and when it's filled you get one free" cards? A chain could do something similar along the lines of "work your way up". Issue "pepper passes", where a stamp shows that you've bought a certain item. For the really hot stuff, they won't sell you one unless you've already got the stamp from the previous level, and each time you buy an item that's hotter than the previous stamp on your pass, you get a new stamp. Needless to say, these passes don't get collected once they're full.

This would allow them to do the real thing (and not disappoint people who WANT spicy food) without the risk of a noob who thinks Taco Bell's "fire" sauce is the ultimate in hot munching on a Bolivian Death Pepper (cookies for reference).

[lordlundar]

The local Mucho Burrito had 'ghost pepper' burritos a while ago. I HAD to try it... and I was sadly disappointed. The ghost pepper in there must have been microscopic. It wasn't even hot!

Eh, due to liability requirements most places can't have food above a certain level on the scale so they over market what they have. In your case, if there's a ghost pepper within a mile of that place it's because someone else is either growing or selling it. See also the "Flamethrower Burger" at Dairy Queen. Does it have heat to it? yup, probably one of the spiciest foods I've had short of straight hot sauce. Is it anywhere near as hot as advertised? Nope.

[Jester]

Fear the Reaper. Seriously.

Blue Oyste Cult would disagree.

Eh, due to liability requirements most places can't have food above a certain level on the scale so they over market what they have.

Speaking of liability, a local hot sauce store does free tastings, which are awesome. No matter how hot you claim to be able to handle, they start everyone off with the milder sauces, pouring some samples into little dip cups and passing out tortilla chips for dipping. And they gradually increase the heat, until they pass out of the chips and dips area, and get into the toothpick zone, which is where all they do is slightly dip one end of the toothpick in the sauce and let you taste that. While I like slice and can handle some of the mellower sauces in the toothpick zone, I almost always politely bow out when they enter that zone.

And you would think that that would be the really hot sauces. But, alas, you'd be wrong. The really hot sauces are the ones that they require you to sign a liability waiver to buy or even taste. Yes, it's that fucking hot that their legal department advised them that this would be the best course of action. I can't really disagree with them. Especially considering most of the braggarts that come in immediately asking for their "hottest sauce" rarely get too far into the toothpick zone without throwing up their hands in defeat. That'll teach them to run their mouths.

[TheSHAD0W]

He came into work this morning with a small bag full of home grown Carolina Reaper peppers. He was handing out these little red balls of pure pain to anyone that wanted one.

You should've grabbed one for yourself. The trick is to use a small amount in your cooking, prior to cooking. It will add heat without adding pepper flavor to the dish, which can be welcome in many ways.

[dalesys]

And in a few hours you can be one of Spider Robinson's heroes... Fleming Ayniss!