Thanks, I already figured it out and already tested it without formally sending the copy. I see I need to edit the post up to be more of an a article, but I know what I want to do. Tonight is hot pepper night in lakeland. Just think, a bar full of people all sampling hot peppers, comparing one to another, and making all kinds of dishes with hot materials in them! It's my job to bring the bananas, the ultimate countermeasure for totally avoiding next morning burn. You will see something in the next day or so. Tom

my kind of place

@cycadjungle / Tom :

I've been growing Ghost peppers for the first time this year. Yesterday, I put together a Chili for dinner. By far, this was the best chili I've ever made. 1 1/4 lb. ground round, and 1 ghost pepper...I don't think I'll ever make another chili with any other kind of pepper! Hubby had a bit of sweat on his brow by the time we were done. And he did nothing but rave about it all evening! Even got up this morning, and fixed another bowl for his lunch today! Had never tried ghost peppers before! Had no idea what we'd been missing!

Tara - welcome - the ghost pepper is pure heat

Gleni said:These are some of my chillies - which someone turns up for to make a Balinese curry. He said they are a Caribbean chilli. I wouldn't know. However, they are very distinctly aromatic with a flavour that doesn't lend itself to all curries. They are also very hot. The man gave me some red ghost plants in exchange.

Cycad, do you have any idea what the identity of this chilli could be?

Franklin! Yes, they are pure HOT! But actually, I was surprised at the nice flavor that they imparted to the dish as well! Yesterday, I made a Habanero Hot Sauce, and because I did not grow Habanero's this year, I substituted the Ghost pepper. I must admit I used one half of what the recipe called for. That would be about 5 Ghost, versus 10-12 Habanero...And it really is surprisingly tasty! And to think that I use to cringe at the thought of adding Jalapeño to a lot of dishes...Go figure...Maybe your taste buds really do evolve with age!

Tara if you used 5 ghost peppers in your hot sauce it must be very, very hot. I also make a hot sauce. care to exchange recipes, ??

terrafirma said: And to think that I use to cringe at the thought of adding Jalapeño to a lot of dishes...Go figure...Maybe your taste buds really do evolve with age!

I read somewhere that "professional pepper testers" have to retire young because, even diluted, the capsaicin killed their taste buds faster than they could grow back in.

Maybe that was an urban legend, and maybe it was just ancient history. The fact that pepper hotness is now reported to three decimal places makes me think that someone invented a chemical test. Maybe gas chromatography / mass spectrometry.

Cycad, do you have any idea what the identity of this chilli could be?

Looks like yellow Fataliis to me. Are they about as hot as a habanero and have a slight citrus taste? If so, these come from Africa and are a favorite of many people. People usually make a sauce with these with like pineapple, lime, lemon, and use it on fish and chicken dishes.
Tara, we have had a "hot pepper night" at a local establishment for about 3 years. After about 6 months we could tell that we could handle much hotter peppers. After we do our taste tests and comparisons of hot peppers, we slice up all the peppers, which is usually about 8 different kinds, and they fry them up for us and include some onions and jalepinos. Many times as people pick through the mixed basket, and I have heard them say, oh this is only a ghost pepper. Next you will probably be adding 7 pod Primos to your chili like I do. :)
Tom

It is totally beyond me how anyone can detect a "slight citrus taste" in a super-hot pepper!! And just when I thought I was kind of a pepper-head...

Cycad. Thanks. That will be what it is. I have trouble with citrus flavour as a flavouring for meat.

Sandy, it is not over the top hot. But you can also smell it on the freshly picked fruit.

Weedwhacker said:It is totally beyond me how anyone can detect a "slight citrus taste" in a super-hot pepper!! And just when I thought I was kind of a pepper-head...

That's nothing, they say the new 7 pod Burgundy has a honey and caramel taste before the heat hits you and after the heat goes away, you have a honey aftertaste. AND the heat is just a little less than a ghost pepper. I got a slightly sweet aftertaste, but that was about it. Some of these things do have a special taste though. The Douglahs have a smoky, nutty taste for a few seconds right before the time release heat hits you. It is very unique, but the heat is fairly brutal, and for me, the heat goes right past the mouth area and sets in my throat and I describe it as a caldron of lava spinning around in your throat and it doesn't go away for a full 10 minutes. Fun eh?

Yes, Tom -- THAT's what I'm talkin' about!!

Even the habs that I grew, the "taste" that I could discern over and above my scalded tastebuds wasn't all that great! (or maybe I was tasting my poor scalded tastebuds... who knows?)

Personally, I can't stand habs. I don't like the taste of scorpions either. Amongst all this heat there ARE flavors and that is what you have to try and see. Bhuts were my favorite for making powder and using at restaurants to sprinkle on my food. ( like at a Mexican restaurant) It has a good solid taste and is real hot, but not twice as hot. The first time I tried the primo powder I feel in love and now that is my new favorite, and IT IS twice as hot.
For those who like the heat but without all the turmoil in the stomach and later on, the powders are great. The oils are dried out, so with powder, you get the heat, not a searing heat, but you can really taste the pepper taste itself. The best thing is 10 minutes later, you don't even know you have eaten something hot. Best way to try new hot peppers but are afraid to jump in the pool with a nasty fresh pepper.

cycadjungle said:
For those who like the heat but without all the turmoil in the stomach and later on, the powders are great. The oils are dried out, so with powder, you get the heat, not a searing heat, but you can really taste the pepper taste itself. The best thing is 10 minutes later, you don't even know you have eaten something hot. Best way to try new hot peppers but are afraid to jump in the pool with a nasty fresh pepper.

Good to know!!

>> For those who like the heat but without all the turmoil in the stomach and later on, the powders are great.

OH! Thanks for explaining that. Hmm ... years ago I gave up on hot food becuase I didn't like the ongoing pain. I doubt I'll ever work my way up to Bhut Jolokia, but this encourages me to go beyond cayenne and arbol.

BTW, does the heavy sweating ever go away if you keep eating hot peppers?
My forehead gets beaded with sweat and my scalp gets soggy.

I'm with you on this one. I quit eating really hot tacos for about 22 years because I was just getting too old to put up with the next morning.
I got back into hot peppers by accident about 5 years ago because I grew them for a certain reason and ended up having a bunch of peppers I didn't know what to do with. I started making powder and found I could eat hotness again.
If you sweat when eating hot peppers, you probably always will. Some do not and some do. I have no covering on top and I bead up real good. That's how I can tell I ate something good if it wasn't obvious at first.

Cycad I am going to try drying peppers and powdering as the first go with my new hydrator. Fingers crossed

Gleni said:Cycad I am going to try drying peppers and powdering as the first go with my new hydrator. Fingers crossed

If this is your first time drying hot peppers, you want them a bit crispy to grind them up to a fine powder. For me that takes 135F for 9 1/2 hours. I guess that's about 57C for you? Some people take the seeds out first and some don't. With most of them I'll just grind up the seeds and all, even though they have no heat at all. On chocolate habs and a few others, I think the seeds make the powder a little bitter, so I pull those out first. Keep in mind that if you do remove the seeds, which have no heat, the placenta, or membrane as some people call it, that surrounds those seeds, is the hottest material in that pepper. Tom

Hea by the way, are they're any Macrozamias on your island?