Baldbill

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^

I have had some hot sauces before but at some point it seems that the Scoville scale flattens out, I mean at what point is it just so dang hot I can't feel my face? Anything beyond a certain point is just plain too hot for normal consumption and you need a doctors prescription to obtain.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^

That stuff was one of our rookie lifeguard initiations. One chip and as much Dave's as the veteran guards decided you needed. Five or six drops and there I was, sitting in the chair ten minutes later, wondering how the hell I was going to drag someone out of the water with both my arms completely numb below the elbows and World War III happening on my tongue.

It does interesting things to seagulls, too.

Zone Left

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^

I think those grenades would be pretty hot. I way dumb enough to take a bite of some Southeast Asian chili in Thailand, and I couldn't talk for an hour and I wasn't quite right for a couple days.

Also, I make a habanero wing glaze that isn't very bad when finished. However, the first time I made it, I didn't chop them using gloves--my face and hands were on fire.

Baldbill

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

While in the Marines and stationed in Japan, we were not allowed to train using CS (tear) gas as we normally do. We normally have a training session once a year on how to use gas masks etc and then do a live use session where we are exposed to CS gas. In Japan it was not allowed by thier government so the chemical guys used chili gas on us. It was pretty devastating in its own right, it has different effects than CS but similar outcomes for the most part, it makes it very hard to do anything but run away if your sinuses and eyes have been exposed to the gas. That burning sensation is not something I desire to repeat again.

Zone Left

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^

At TBS, the instructors did a CS demo. Right as they threw the grenade, the wind shifted toward them. They scattered pretty quickly, but one still got a pretty good shot and ended up puking.

TTUwolverine

March 23rd, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^

Maybe someone who enjoys eating extremely spicy food can explain this to me, because I am at a loss. Why the fuck would anyone want to willingly subject themselves to this kind of pain? How is it enjoyable? I mean, a little bit of spice is fine to add some flavor, but I don't need to be shitting out my intestines for a week. Please, someone enlighten me. Have I missed some ancient rite-of-passage to becoming a man?

Blazefire

March 23rd, 2010 at 1:59 PM ^

Capsacian is the chemical in hot things that makes them hot. It is an alkaloid, and when it comes in contact with nerve endings on your tongue, it prompts your brain to release endorphins, in part, to counter "the burn". The hotter something is, the more endorphins your brain releases.

Therefore, hot foods give you a serious high. This effect is less noticable in some people, hence those that do not like "spicy food".

TTUwolverine

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:06 PM ^

I thought that was sarcasm, but then Wikipedia confirmed. I still think there are better ways to release endorphines than by eating crazy spicy foods. Thats like cutting out your own tonsils so you can get free ice cream at the hospital.

Blazefire

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:09 PM ^

So long as you have a healthy digestive tract, spicy food doesn't REALLY hurt you. The alkaloids are painful, but don't actually break down your body at all.

(as you get a little older, your body starts to respond in unhealthy ways to these alkaloids, though).

ToledoBlue

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^

Quick story:

I had my dad ship a bottle to me in Okinawa a few years ago. (Semper FI) This was at the height of a brand new show called JACKASS. My fellow jarheads and I had quite the prank war going. One night after one too many I decided to sneak into my buddies room as he was snoring profusely. I thought it would be a terrific idea to just pour the bottle down his gullet. I was unaware anything this side of liquid magma would make your lips swell and eyes bulge quite like that. I laughed so hard I dropped the (unfortuntely) glass bottle smashing it to the deck making a sort of tear gas effect for the next few hours. Good thing I had my own room.

The last laugh was unfortunately had by him however as all my laughter and that nights beverages caused me to have to piss like a race horse. Hot sauce by some sort of devil osmosis passes through glass onto your hands subsequently onto my most sensitive of areas. To this day I hate that show....

ptmac

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:36 PM ^

I love spicy food and grow japos, habs, and cayennes. The taste is really good too. All "spicy" is not the same. Each of the above peppers taste different. Habaneros are the spiciest I grow or use. They are intense, but they also have a really nice flavor.

For me, the dizziness kicks in after my head starts to sweat. It is quite pleasant.

I second being very careful handling habaneros or anything else really hot. You should wear gloves when cutting them or touching the inside of the pepper. If not when you touch your eyes or go to the bathroom you will burn for an hour or so.

ptmac

March 23rd, 2010 at 4:28 PM ^

Cayenne is really easy to dry and is usually what you see in the form of red pepper flakes. It is easy to make your own. You can make a ristra (google the term). I just set them out and let them dry, then grind them in a food processor. Cayennes work b/c the walls of the pepper are thin. If the walls are too thick, like a jalapeno, the pepper will not dry. It will rot. However these peppers can be smoked, e.g. chipotles are smoked jalapenos.