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16.000.000 Scoville hotsauce

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  • 16.000.000 Scoville hotsauce



    This chilli is so hot, you'd have to drink 250,000 gallons of water just to put out the fire
    By James Langton in New York
    (Filed: 08/05/2005)

    "We live in an extreme world," explains Blair Lazar, a hot sauce creator. "And I make extreme foods.' In his hands is the hottest spice in the world, an ultra-refined version of chilli powder so fiery that customers must sign a waiver absolving him of any liability if they are foolish enough to try it.

    Locked in a crystal flask sealed with wax and a tiny skull, Mr Lazar's mouth-blistering concoction is pure capsaicin - the chemical that lends habanero and jalapeno peppers their thermo nuclear heat.


    Blair Lazar: to taste his sauce is to experience ‘pure heat’
    His "16 Million Reserve", which is released to the public this week, is the holy grail of hot sauces, the hottest that chemistry can create.

    It is 30 times hotter than the spiciest pepper, the Red Savina from Mexico, and 8,000 times stronger than Tabasco sauce. To put the tiniest speck on the tip of your tongue is to experience "pure heat", Mr Lazar says.

    Although capsaicin does not actually burn - it fools your brain into thinking that you are in pain by stimulating nerve endings in your mouth - some medical experts believe that it could kill an asthmatic or hospitalise a user who touched his eyes or other sensitive parts of the anatomy.

    Mr Lazar has trained his palate to endure the sensation, but he remembers the moment he dared to taste his "16 Million Reserve".

    "The pain was exquisite," he said. "It was like having your tongue hit with a hammer. Man, it hurt. My tongue swelled up and it hurt like hell for days."


    The Scoville Scale measures the heat of peppers
    Click to enlarge

    The eye-watering qualities of peppers are measured in internationally recognised Scoville units, developed by Wilbur Scoville, an American chemist who, in 1912, asked tasters to evaluate how many parts of sugar water it took to neutralise capsaicin heat.

    Today, capsaicin content is measured in parts per million, using a process known as high-performance liquid chromatography; one part being equivalent to 15 Scoville units. Benign bell peppers rate zero Scoville units and the Red Savina entered Guinness World Records at 570,000 units.

    Pure capsaicin, meanwhile, has a heat score of 16 million units - inspiring the name for Mr Lazar's latest creation. Each of the 999 limited-edition bottles, priced at $199 (£105), contains just a few crystals. The powder is so strong, however, that Mr Lazar estimates that it would have to be dissolved in 250,000 gallons of water before it could no longer be tasted.

    His career as a hot sauce creator began when he found that the best way to clear drunks out of his seaside bar was to give them free chicken wings dipped in an eye-watering home-made hot sauce.

    Now he runs Extreme Foods in New Jersey, selling his existing range, including "Mega Death" and "Jersey Death", the latter, according to Mr Lazar, being the world's hottest usable condiment.

    He keeps a fridge full of iced spring water in his office for those brave enough to try some. Most tasters sweat heavily and are unable to see for tears for up to half an hour.

    It takes several tons of fresh peppers to produce 1lb of capsaicin for the 16 Million Reserve, and the work takes months. First, moisture is removed from the fresh peppers until a thick tar-like substance remains.

    The means by which all further impurities are eliminated, leaving pure capsaicin powder, is a trade secret, but the work takes place in a laboratory where Mr Lazar and his team wear sealed suits with masks to avoid inhaling the dust.

    Five years ago Mr Lazar created "2am Reserve" in honour of the hour at which he once closed his bar. It was hotter than any other chilli product on the market, measuring up to 900,000 Scoville units.

    He then distilled even stronger chilli extracts, including the scorching "6am Reserve" at 10 million units. Most of the signed and numbered bottles of "16 Million Reserve" will be bought by aficionados known as chilli heads.

    Buyers have to sign a disclaimer warning that any handling "must be under a controlled environment using protective gloves and safety eye wear".

    "It shouldn't be used for flavour," says Mr Lazar. "The only function is its heat value." He prefers not to speculate on what might happen should anyone be foolish enough to down an entire bottle. Rinsing the mouth with milk is among the best remedies as the capsaicin binds to fat molecules; it will also dissolve in alcohol.

    Internet sites such as the hot sauce weblog and sweatnspice.com have been abuzz with talk about this week's release, with many collectors planning to buy at least two bottles - one to display and the other to try.

    But one chilli head who obtained an early sample dropped a single grain into a pan of tomato soup. After persuading his wife to try a spoonful, he reported that: "She threatened divorce once she could speak again.''

    We have enough youth - What we need is a fountain of smart!


    i7-920, 6GB DDR3-1600, HD4870X2, Dell 27" LCD

  • #2
    Saw this in a show on the Food channel just yesterday. Taste testers for the hotsauce were only allowed to taste a sample no larger than the head of a pencil. Hot stuff.


    I wonder how much sugar it would take to put the fire out, given water is such a poor choice for doing so (actually makes it worse as it spreads it around).
    “And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'” ~ Merlin Mann

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    • #3
      if its not used for taste what was the point?
      www.lizziemorrison.com

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      • #4
        Where does pure sulfuric acid fall on that scale?

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        • #5
          Where does pure sulfuric acid fall on that scale?
          Lower

          I want some

          Dr. Mordrid
          Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 9 May 2005, 12:53.
          Dr. Mordrid
          ----------------------------
          An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

          I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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          • #6
            I sure hope you have asbestos underwear if you plan on trying this stuff
            We have enough youth - What we need is a fountain of smart!


            i7-920, 6GB DDR3-1600, HD4870X2, Dell 27" LCD

            Comment


            • #7
              Let's put it this way; our 7 year old son, Erik, and I can both eat Red Savina's the way most people would eat carrot or celery sticks. Red Savina's clock in at 570,000 Scoville units and are the hottest known pepper.

              'nuff said?

              Unfortunately my darling wife, Margie, can't even be in the same room with Red Savina's (or anything else near that hot) without her eyes watering and swelling shut....

              Dr. Mordrid
              Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 9 May 2005, 13:17.
              Dr. Mordrid
              ----------------------------
              An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

              I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

              Comment


              • #8
                I was just saying that eating them was just HALF the problem.. still this stuff is what.. 28 times hotter?
                We have enough youth - What we need is a fountain of smart!


                i7-920, 6GB DDR3-1600, HD4870X2, Dell 27" LCD

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                • #9
                  My brother has this thing for hot sauces and stuff, personally I can't stand hot peppers

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by tjalfe
                    I was just saying that eating them was just HALF the problem.. still this stuff is what.. 28 times hotter?
                    eyup.. worst is when you have one of those cream-cheese-stuffed peppers.. damn things just park in your colon and won't come out.. ouchie!

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by KvHagedorn
                      eyup.. worst is when you have one of those cream-cheese-stuffed peppers.. damn things just park in your colon and won't come out.. ouchie!
                      Love those. The hotter the better. Never had any issues with them vacationing in my colon though.
                      “And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'” ~ Merlin Mann

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                      • #12
                        So where does the Guatemalan insanity pepper rate compared to that stuff?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          for some reason i think ive burnt out my pallet on my tongue. i eat spicy all the time and it seems a bit bland to me.

                          When my roommate always gets something too spicy we always trade food with each other. he'll be in tears and i think it hasnt got the slightest taste to it.

                          strange .

                          i had thai curry last week and they were all like. its going to be hot and spicy now! and im like OK now. and it wasnt at all. what the hell
                          www.lizziemorrison.com

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                          • #14
                            You definitely acclimate to spicy food and you need to keep getting it hotter and hotter to get the same kick. You'll resensitize yourself to the hotness if you leave it alone for awhile ... if you can kick the habit.
                            <TABLE BGCOLOR=Red><TR><TD><Font-weight="+1"><font COLOR=Black>The world just changed, Sep. 11, 2001</font></Font-weight></TR></TD></TABLE>

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                            • #15
                              Easier said than done when you live in the south... at least I've always found it hard to avoid the foods I love
                              “And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'” ~ Merlin Mann

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