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Kitchen Notes: Scoville Units
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SlowDive



Joined: 15 Apr 2006
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:02 pm    Post subject: Dave's is a sissy hot sauce Reply with quote

Dave's Insanity and other's are the old school. Blair of extremefood.com has long since taken over the hot sauce market with extremely high scoville ratings in heat. (Dave's Insanity is roughly 50,000 Scoville units in heat *Blair's sauces range from 55,000 to 550,000 Scoville units in heat with his reserves and collector sauces ranging to a Guinness record setting 16 million in Scoville heat)

A regular Habanero hot sauce averages about 20,000 to 30,000 Scoville units. The "extract" sauces (usually named stuff like Devils Drool, or Blair's Mega Death, and have entertaining packaging) contain much higher concentrations of Capsaicin extract and range from 250,000 to 550,000 Scoville units. Needless to say that is extremely hot. So much so they carry warnings that they are to be dilluted and used on a per drop basis, and should be kept in a safe place. Generally 300,000 to 550,000 Scoville unit sauces are the apex of heat for even the seasoned "chileheads", and will undoubtedly induce a lot of sweating, eye tearing and nasal drip for a good 10 minutes or so in small applications. The Black Mamba however is in a group of maybe four or five in the world that carry the highest concentraions of Capsaicin at inordinately high levels. Black Mamba was tested and shown to have several million Scoville units per bottle! What this means is a toothpick sized droplet will burn burn burn in a way that nothing ever has before. I now know this to be true. I tasted a drop on a tortilla chip this morning and in the first few minutes almost wished I hadn't. My pallete was aflame with something I didn't perceive to be edible. My throat felt like something had literally blazed a trail through it, my sinuses were vaporized by what I liken to inhaling ammonia to keep from passing out, my entire head was sweating like I had just run 10 miles, and my eyes were a watery mess. This all from a single drop of this stuff (no lie). I seriously couldnt take the heat, and I admittedly enjoy hot foods, so that should gibve you a good indication at the power of this stuff. There is another sauce called The Source which is measured at 7 million Scoville units which is obviously ridiculous.

The Blair's private reserve collection has the Guinness record in Scoville measured heat with his 16million Reserve pure Cap flake. It's not even extract which is already uber hot, it's actually pure Capscium flake which is like oleoresin heat at extreme concentrations. You need to sign a waiver to even purchase the stuf,f and it has to be handled with gloves and safety glasses (not a joke - seriously). Reportedly one couple of seasoned chiliheads dropped a flake into a pot of soup, melted and stirred it in and both couldn't handle the heat. Another guy at a radio station tried it on the air and was sent to the hospital with respiratory problems.

If you're interested in genuine heat that won't kill you, your best bet is a max of 550,000 scoville to the most at maybe a million. Try something like Blair's Mega Death which is a nice 550,000 Scoville and you'll get what you're looking for.

There are a wide varity of products out there, many of us collect them.
The must visit links for serious chiliheads:

www.hotsauceworld.com

www.hotsauceblog.com


-
~TC~
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Guest






PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Checkout <href="http://www.insanechicken.com/worlds-hottest-hot-sauce.html">World's Hottest Hot Sauce. I buy my Hot Sauce from InsaneChicken.com and I am always satisfied . Smile
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GaryProtein



Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 535

PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since people are mentioning their favorite pepper sites, I might as well add the seller than got me in trouble with my wife one day when she went to delete the cookies.

www.firegirl.com

They are very informative and sell a wide variety of sauces from mild to deadly.
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chetchow
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 2:48 am    Post subject: Measuring hotness Reply with quote

is there a kitchen measuring/sensor instrument to check the hotness factor of the food being cooker?
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:43 am    Post subject: Hot sauce sodium content Reply with quote

Something I noticed about the "Louisiana hot sauces" that you find in America is that they tend to contain a lot of sodium. I've seen anywhere from around 100 mg/tsp to 300+ mg/tsp. I used to think nothing of dumping a tablespoon on some tamales or a burrito, but now I hesitate to add 900 mg of sodium to an already salty meal. The one with the lowest sodium that I've been able to find is the original Tobasco, with (if I recall correctly) 30 mg/tsp. It doesn't taste quite the same, though.
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GaryProtein



Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 535

PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree. Tabasco adds some heat, but is totally lacking in the flavor department. For a more flavorful easily found sauce, Franks Hot Sauce is much better than Tabasco, although maybe not quite as hot.
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EngineeringProfessor



Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:03 am    Post subject: So many sauces, so little time... Reply with quote

I personally favor "Endorphin Rush". I use it to accelerate my lamb curry to illegal levels of endorphin production. Great on burritos as well. The delightful dizziness that is brought on by a powerful sauce is something everyone should experience. Tabasco? Lousiana Hot Sauce? Puh-leez.

Also, ER is low sodium.
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GaryProtein



Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 535

PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, Prof, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you aren't as sick as I am, but if you are, go to www.firegirl.com you can get your 6 million scoville unit sauces. That's what I do when I need a heat rush.

Also try this for 16 Million:

http://www.hotsauceblog.com/hotsaucearchives/blairs-16-million-product-review/

and

http://www.sweatnspice.com/429-13.htm

Good luck and eat safely.
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EngineeringProfessor



Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

GaryProtein wrote:
OK, Prof, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you aren't as sick as I am, but if you are, go to www.firegirl.com you can get your 6 million scoville unit sauces. That's what I do when I need a heat rush.

<...snip...>

Good luck and eat safely.


ER's 33.390K is more than hot enough for this old fool and it helps me watch my sodium ;-)

I like an endorphin buzz, but I don't want to wake up in the ER (the other acronym).
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Filbo
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:59 am    Post subject: Part of original article missing Reply with quote

Quote:
Here's some of the examples that I've managed to collect to provide an idea of how the varieties stack up against each other.

This didn't show up in my usual Opera, so I tried it in Firefox, Lynx, and then (with much trepidation) fired up Internet Exploder (7). No dice, no table, no lucky streak...
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Watt
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rsub8 wrote:
Capsaicin actually refers to a family of compounds, which vary in their "heat," explaining why diferent species of peppers (which produce slightly chemically different capsaicins) have different "heat" (and also where they "hit" you - tongue, back of throat, etc.) in addition to the quantity (and mixture) of capsaicin in the plant tissue.

This also is a good reason why it's a good idea to combine different "heats" (tabasco, habanero, cayenne, plus black AND white pepper) in a recipe. Paul Prud'homme explains this principle in his cookbooks (gumbo recipes).


AFAIK, there is only one type of receptor (called VR1) which 'detects' capsaicinoids (the group as a whole) some have more effect (cause more/less pain). Therefore to say different capsaicinoids affect different parts of the mouth/throat is erroneous, and therefore using different chillies would not give any difference in pain location. Just another urban myth, I'm afraid.
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GaryProtein



Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 535

PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peppers have flavors. The heat evoking chemical, capsaicin is actually NOT a flavoring/taste compound. Capsaicin is actually a PAIN inducing compound, and its "flavor" is actually your response to the pain receptors, which is why it can be noticed in your mouth and throat at the top of your GI tract, in your stomach sometimes causing heartburn in the middle, as well as at the "bottom" of the GI tract in some people. The pepper burn can also be on the outside of the body, like the skin, and especially the eyes. BE VERY CAREFUL when handling high Scoville unit sauces and additives not to touch your eyes. You will NEVER forget that experience.

There are only four main tastes: salt, sweet, bitter, sour. If you count unami, the flavor of MSG, there are five. However, not everybody can taste unami, which explains why some people can tell you on the first bite when they eat food that has MSG. Most all "flavors" are actually smelled, so don't expect a gourmet creation from a cook who has a cold or summer allergies.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:48 am    Post subject: My Vote Reply with quote

I put my vote for InsaneChicken's Hot Sauce Catalog . They send out the products quickly and their customer service is excellent. Wink
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meathook



Joined: 16 Jul 2007
Posts: 15

PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have tried Dave's Total Insanity and my picture is on the wall down at a restaurant in Corpus Christi to prove that I was an idiot. But that was just a lark, for something really hot.
But, besides hot, there is absolutely wonderful flavor in one of the hot peppers, the habanero. This sauce is fantastic in stew, soup, or many foods where more depth of flavor is desirable. Doubt me....just try in a small, safe quantity. And, yes, you are welcome....in advance.
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MostlySurly
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:21 pm    Post subject: Flavor Reply with quote

Having spent years sampling as many sauces as I can, regardless of heat content, Tabasco original rules the flavor roost. If I'm looking for something to merely increase the heat, others are far better suited, but as a condiment, Tabasco is my standard by which all others are measured.
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