Have you ever done something you suspected was a mistake but did it anyway? I just did -- and regretted it with tears.
I was watching a Netflix show tonight about a chili-pepper eating competition. Crazy people with tattoos ate ridiculously hot peppers trying to beat each other. Halfway through the show I remembered I have fresh habanero peppers in the fridge.
There are also jalapeno peppers there but, hey, jalapenos are no problem. At 25,000 units on the Scoville scale, jalapenos are easy to eat. Cooked, I gobble 'em down with no discomfort; raw, I'll consume one with tolerable pain. Discomfort eating hot peppers comes from capsaicin, a chemical irritant. Capsaicin is the ingredient in pepper spray used for riot-control.
Habanero peppers are serious. They're ten times hotter than jalapenos and rate 250,000 units on the Scoville scale. I know from experience that one habanero will heat up a large pot of food to my maximum tolerance; two make it inedible. I've never eaten a raw habanero pepper, believing that to be foolish. Now I know it is.
Watching lunatics on TV eat hot peppers got the better of me. I was curious how bad eating a fresh habanero would be. So I pulled one out, washed it off and popped it in my mouth.
Holy crap!!! Intense pain lights up your mouth and is unbearable. Nothing can soothe it -- and I tried everything. I learned a lesson tonight -- I'll eat habaneros cooked but never raw.
There are hotter peppers than the habanero but, honestly, I don't want to hear about them. Just pass the milk...
Yikes, what were you thinking, Ally!? I'm glad you had some milk on hand, and I hope your mouth is feeling better!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite chinese place cooks their General Tso's with dried red chilis. I don't know their name or Scoville unit, but my mom once offered me money to bite into one (teasingly).
ReplyDeleteBold - i did it! And boy how regret. I didn't have milk either. LOL!
I've eaten Chinese food that's incredibly hot. Even their simple mustard is fiery.
DeleteEeeek! That reminds me of the time I tried to take my contacts out after cutting hot peppers...did not go well! Hope your mouth isn't on fire anymore!
ReplyDeleteIt's okay. Thanks. Your story reminds me of a time when I stuck my head over a cooking pot; simply the steam from hot peppers was unbearable.
DeleteWe watched that same delightful Netflix series recently (hopefully they'll make more episodes - it was so short!) and I was an awe of those brave souls with their mouths of steal. Especially as someone who has never had the ability to tolerate spicy foods well and finds jalapenos to be "very hot". 😄
ReplyDeleteAutumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life
I'm giggling...sorry!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It *is* funny.
DeleteSorry about the intense pain. I just remember some film when a guy ate very spicy Latin American dish prepared by this future father-in-law to prove that he embraces the culture and the background of his Latin girlfriend. He survived and the father in law started to respect him after that so I guess the pain was worth it for him. Can't remember the name of the film but it was funny.
ReplyDelete