Hangers&Hangers

For years, the Red Savina Habanero was thought to be the hottest pepper in the world.  But recently, the Naga Jolokia pepper, also called the Bhut Jolokia, Naga Morich and Ghost Pepper, has been discovered to rate over a million on the Scoville Heat Rating chart.  To give the average person a frame of reference, jalapenos rate less than 10,000, and the Habanero ranges between 200,000 – 300,000.  Native to northeastern India, Naga Jolokia is also grown in other areas of the Middle and Far East.  Introduced to the western world by India’s Defense Research Laboratory, it was grown and tested in the US and England and was eventually confirmed as the most intensely hot pepper in the world.

With a Scoville rating so high, it was not long before hot sauce fanatics started clamoring for a sauce made from it.  The safety precautions in those kitchen factories must be pretty extreme to protect the workers from the pepper extracts that go into sauces like Dave’s Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce or Naga Sabi Bomb Hot Sauce.  These sauces are not meant to be for dipping or marinating, but rather as a food additive.  This Ghost Pepper is so hot that in fact, heat is its only real flavor.  However, when it’s used in small quantities as a spice, it escalates the flavors of other ingredients.  Anyone intent on eating one of these smoking peppers should take extreme caution and be prepared with sour cream, yogurt or bread to cool off their mouths and avoid a trip to the emergency room.

While still growing and maturing, the Naga Jolokia continues to get hotter.  Some pepper enthusiasts prefer to harvest the fruit early, while it is still green.  As the pepper ages, the skin color turns a rich red, and at its reddest, the pepper is its hottest.  Although it is difficult to cultivate in some areas of the world, it grows much better in the hot humid climates similar to that of its origin.  In fact, when an experiment was conducted to determine the effect that climate has on the heat of the fruit, drier climates decreased the Scoville rating by as much as half.  The peppers are relatively small, typically only 2.5 – 4 inches, but in that small space, dynamite lives!

Hot sauce is misunderstood by most people.  Hot sauce lovers are “just plain nuts”, the wimpier folks say.  It’s just not true!  For whatever reason, hot sauce fanatics are just made differently than the rest of the population.  Put the most complex lasagna with subtle flavors intertwined with pungent cheeses and sauce in front of a hot sauce lover and all they’ll be able to think of is, “it sure could use some Black Mamba”!

But don’t be misled – one hot sauce lover is not equal to the next.  Some prefer Cajun flavors, some like the complexity of African Fatalii peppers, and still others just want to be lit up by the mythical Ghost Pepper.  Whatever variety is their favorite, though, the true connoisseur is willing to try the next hottest sauce on the market to decide how they could work that new one into their repertoire.  The true hot sauce enthusiast is not afraid of permanent tongue damage!

One of the best uses of the hottest sauces is not as a dip or spread, but rather as an additive to soups and stews.  Cooks with blander tastes even find that dropping a teaspoon or so of a sauce that would be impossible to ingest alone will bring out the other flavors present.  Say goodbye to “vanilla” when you pick up a bottle of Wanza’s Wicked Temptation Hot Sauce and wave it over your pot of gumbo or chili.  Be sure to have a side of sour cream handy for your wimpy guests!

The flaming effect of adding temperature heat to chemical heat is a phenomenon that is worthy of exploring as well.  When the capsaicin of the really hot peppers opens up the nerve receptors of the tongue, it becomes especially sensitive to the heat coming off the food itself.  This adds another dimension to the smoking hot pleasure by lacing it with pain.

The best selling hot sauces here have proven to be the best at making even the most seasoned hot sauce addict sweat.  Just wait and see!  Generally speaking, if any form of the word “insane” appears in the name of the sauce, then it’s worth placing in your shopping cart for a tryout.  A favorite for many is Da’ Bomb Beyond Insanity Hot Sauce.  While it does not contain the hottest pepper found, but rather the Habanero, you’ll be shouting “fire in the hole!” when this one lights you up.  The Scoville Unit Heat Rating system also gives you a good indication of whether or not you can handle the heat.  Anything over half a million on this scale should be approached with caution!