Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce Challenge

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experience of tasting Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce, which rates 500,000 on the Scoville scale. Participants share their personal experiences with spicy foods, perceptions of heat, and methods of preparing hot sauces. The conversation includes comparisons to other hot sauces and peppers, as well as the effects of spiciness on individuals.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses surprise at their tolerance for the sauce, suggesting they have tasted hotter chilies before.
  • Another participant agrees that the sauce is hot, comparing it to their homemade habanero relish.
  • Some participants discuss the variability of spiciness perception among individuals, noting that some may have fewer receptors for certain peppers.
  • There is mention of a hotter sauce, around a million Scoville units, prompting questions about personal experiences with such sauces.
  • Participants share anecdotes about handling hot peppers and the intense burning sensations that can occur, emphasizing the need for caution.
  • One participant describes their method of preparing salsa and the ingredients used, highlighting the balance of heat and flavor.
  • There is a discussion about the testing methods for measuring spiciness, including organoleptic testing and the Scoville scale.
  • Questions arise about the proper boiling times for making pepper sauces to ensure safety and preservation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the sauce is hot, but there are multiple competing views on the subjective experience of spiciness and the effects of different hot sauces and peppers. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best practices for making and preserving pepper sauces.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the subjective nature of spiciness perception, the variability in individual reactions to heat, and the dependence on specific preparation methods for safety in canning.

  • #31
fourier jr said:
I've heard that there are two kinds of habaneros. One is bright orange/red, a bit like a Scotch Bonnet & isn't nearly as hot, & there's a darker orange/brown one which is more like 400k-500k SCUs.

Actually, I'm starting up a pepper garden and searched for hours for hot peppers. I went online and found a type of habanero called Savannah Red Habaneros. Rated at minimum of 545k SCUs.

That 1 Mill SCU sauce was probably not made from peppers, but made with deluded capcaisin. Capcaisin rates 7 Mill-11 Mill SCU. And they even sell it on the internet!
 
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  • #32
Math Jeans said:
Actually, I'm starting up a pepper garden and searched for hours for hot peppers. I went online and found a type of habanero called Savannah Red Habaneros. Rated at minimum of 545k SCUs.

That 1 Mill SCU sauce was probably not made from peppers, but made with deluded capcaisin. Capcaisin rates 7 Mill-11 Mill SCU. And they even sell it on the internet!

yeah iirc the hottest chiles grown naturally are those dark-coloured habeneros which are about 500k SCUs. that east-indian naga jolokia pepper mentioned earlier which is about 1000k SCUs is a cultivated variety.

edit: lol for comparison, pepper sprays are about 2000-5300k SCUs :bugeye:
 
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  • #33
fourier jr said:
lol for comparison, pepper sprays are about 2000-5300k SCUs :bugeye:

The active ingrediant in pepper sprays is deluded capsaicin. That stuff is serious heat. When people taste capsaicin, they dip a needle and lick the very tip of it, and that is very spicy for even some of the most resistant hot sauce lovers. The naga pepper (which is around 1 Mill SCU) is not even on the market unless you go to some individual website from a weird foreign seller. But I think that pepper-wise, Savannah Reds are quite the punch.
 
  • #34
Spicy chili smell leads to evacuation

Authorities sealed off several premises and closed roads. The Times of London described shoppers coughing and spluttering as firefighters wearing special breathing masks sought the source of the smell.

The paper said firefighters smashed down the door of the Thai Cottage restaurant and seized extra-hot bird's eye chilies which had been left dry-frying. It said they were being prepared as part of a batch of Nam Prik Pao, a spicy Thai dip.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071003/ap_on_fe_st/britain_spicy_chili
 
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  • #35
Spicy chili smell leads to evacuation By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
50 minutes ago

LONDON - Super spicy chili sauce being cooked at a London Thai restaurant sparked road closures and evacuations after passers-by complained that the smell was burning their throats, police said Wednesday.

London Fire Brigade's chemical response team was called after reports that a strong smell was wafting from the restaurant in the heart of London's Soho district Monday afternoon, a Metropolitan police spokesman said, speaking anonymously in line with force policy.

Authorities sealed off several premises and closed roads. The Times of London described shoppers coughing and spluttering as firefighters wearing special breathing masks sought the source of the smell.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071003/ap_on_fe_st/britain_spicy_chili

:smile:
I've had those birds-eye chilis before; they aren't so bad. I bet that dip was tasty.:approve:
 
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  • #36
I thought Londoners were tougher than that, LOL.
 
  • #37
When I told my wife about this one, she commented that it is probably a good thing that we are not back in our old neighborhood. We'd have Haz-Mat/Swat teams busting down the doors. As it is, when we are making habanero relish, we keep a couple of windows open, and when we introduce hot, soapy water to the bowl, cutter, and lid of the food processor to clean it, the hot water "weaponizes" the chili juice and causes us to gasp and cough, too. It's a whole lot easier to eat and enjoy this stuff than to breathe it into your lungs.
 
  • #38
Turbo, imagine the havoc if your kitchen caught fire (hope it never does) people would have to be evacuated 50 miles away down wind.
 
  • #39
wolram said:
Turbo, imagine the havoc if your kitchen caught fire (hope it never does) people would have to be evacuated 50 miles away down wind.
The kitchen is not so much a problem, but if the cupboards and pantry got hot enough to burst glass jars, the carnage would be wide-spread.:smile: