The Trinidad moruga scorpion pepper. Measuring up to two million Scoville units, it was once the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the hottest pepper in the world until it was dethroned by the Carolina Reaper pepper in 2013.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, user: Hankwang
We Flugs are not very smart sometimes.
My brother and I are guilty of being occasional pepper experimenters who dare to indulge in the odd heat high.
Being the hot-food-curious guy that I am, I ended off 2014 at my brother’s garage get-together by sampling a pinch of flakes and seeds from these ridiculously hot peppers he bought called the Trinidad moruga scorpion.
It’s the second-hottest pepper on Earth next to the Carolina Reaper, and can be up to almost twice as hot as the ghost pepper a.k.a. bhut jolokia.
On the Scoville heat scale, this stinger can measure as high as two million SCU heat units.
In Calgary, you can get a hold of these “Dare ya, bro” peppers/sauces from vendors such as Hatari Bros. You can try your “luck” hunting them down at the farmers market.
I took about a minute of staring at this devil of a pepper, holding it in my hand preparing myself as it actually started to sting my palm.
I took one eyewitness’ sage advice and just broke off a pinch’s worth of the dried hellfire. In it went as I braced myself for an evening of pain and a subsequent morning of discomfort.
This one doesn’t mess around: for me the pain onset was not a gradual creeper that takes a moment to peak, like some peppers and sauces can be, but a fast-building peak, with myself looking so red one would think that I came home from a tropical vacation. Nose was sniffling like I caught the worst cold ever, tears were flowing, saliva streamed steadily, and I did slow breathing exercises throughout in order to make sure I didn’t lose my composure. The pain peak lasted about five minutes and, to my surprise, mouth felt back to normal after only about 45 minutes.
I’m just grateful that my bro played the nice host and still kept the cheese nibbling tray around after dinner.
To my surprise, however, it showed me mercy quickly, but made sure I wouldn’t forget its sudden sting.
And this was only a pinch’s worth. With hindsight, a whole dried pepper would have been an even dumber idea, one that I probably won’t try.
The Mucho Burrito Death by Johnny habanero & scotch bonnett pepper sauce I occasionally put on my meats and chicken wings is a cool-down compared to this.
If jalapenos are considered a challenge for you and you can’t handle the humble habanero (by comparison), this one’s burn will be too much to take. So like you would encountering any venomous insect while out on a tropical safari, keep away for your own good — and don’t try to grab and eat it.
Did I also tell you that we Flugs are not very smart sometimes?
Pronounced [FLOO-G] 