Hey, hot stuff, can you feel the burn? Do you know someone who loves the heat? In any group, there’s always someone with dragon breath.
Typically a mild-mannered person, this pepper fanatic morphs into a fire eater who claims, “That’s not hot – I add a ton of hot peppers to my chili!” We all know someone who chomps jalapeno peppers like strawberries and who opens his cupboard – is it true that it’s always a guy? – to show you his spread of hot sauces.
Well, here’s the world’s hottest gift for that character: a chance to grow the world’s hottest peppers with Try My Nuts.
The heat in peppers comes from a chemical compound called capsaicin (pronounced cap-SAY-sin), which has all kinds of uses. It is used for bear spray and to reduce pain from arthritis, psoriasis, and shingles. And it’s used to put both pain and flavor in your food.
When ordering peppers, most packages come marked with Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) that identify the intensity of the heat.
Sweet peppers get 0 SHUs: Z-E-R-O. Jalapenos, which are as hot as many of us want to try, get somewhere from 2500 to 8000 SHUs. But the Carolina reaper, the world’s hottest pepper? Up to 2.2 million SHUs!
Here are some of the super-hot pepper plants you can order from Try My Nuts! We show them in order of heat from mild to hot. Can you believe that habaneros are at the “mild” end of the list?
Chocolate Habanero Peppers
Perfect for creating various sauces, salsa, and stews, these smoky and fruity peppers are popular and delicious.
Double the heat of regular habanero pepper and 142 times the heat of a jalapeno! They are larger than the typical habanero and develop a dark chocolatey color as they ripen.
Ghost Peppers
Originally from northeast India, ghost peppers earn a rating of over one million SHUs, four to eight times spicier than a habanero. Residents smear it on fences to keep elephants out of their gardens, and the Indian Army uses it in their smoke bombs.
Trinidad Scorpion Peppers
Scorpion peppers are initially from the Trinidad and Tobago area of the Caribbean, and until 10 years ago they were the world’s hottest pepper. They can reach 1.4 million SHUs and often find their way into super-spicy sauces. Get out the fire extinguisher if you’re planning to partake; put yourself out before the pepper does!
Carolina Reaper Peppers
“Insanity in edible form.”
In 2013 this variety was crowned the hottest by The Guinness Book of World Records, with a SHU range of 1.4 to 2.2 million SHUs. That’s worse than pepper spray. It has a sweet flavor but consider yourself warned! Don’t even think of handling without gloves and face coverings. However, if you are as insane as we think you are, you can also buy Carolina reaper pepper pods from us here:
(https://www.trymynuts.com/mad-dog-357-carolina-reaper-pepper-pods)
Oh yes, we have other peppers. For those who want to take on the world and grow five of our scorching varieties of peppers, choose the Grow Your Own Peppers Five Pack.
Growing
Your plants will arrive with basic instructions, but here are some gardener’s tips to give you the biggest, hottest, and meanest peppers – AND to protect those in your life who should not be eating your beauties.
Once your plants outgrow the cans, transplant them into warm soil with good drainage, preferably in pots.
They need sun and heat.
Don’t drown your pepper plants, but keep the soil moist.
A fertilizer low in nitrogen is best. How can you tell? Look at the three numbers on all fertilizers – too much nitrogen gives you a plant with beautiful green leaves and few peppers, so choose one where the first number is the lowest.
The usual time to harvest your peppers is 8-10 weeks.
Precautions
Children and pets have no business being around pepper plants, so keep them away.
Label the plants. Don’t let some poor visitor pluck what they think is a sweet pepper, only to realize too late that they’ve bitten into a habanero.
Don’t plant them near sweet peppers, as cross-pollination will make your hot peppers sweet and your sweet peppers hot.
Wear gloves when you harvest and handle the peppers! The capsaicin is carried in oil that will stay on your fingers and can cause burning when you touch mucus membranes: your lips, your eyes, and other tender parts of your body.
The capsaicin in peppers also has some digestive risks since some people, especially children, have difficulty tolerating the heat. It can cause chemical burns of the mucus membranes in the mouth and burning diarrhea.
What to do if the peppers were just more than you can bear? Some ideas: things that coat surfaces – milk, yogurt, ice cream, a banana—and neutral foods such as rice or plain potatoes. Ice, water, and beer are not your best choices; you’re putting water on an oil fire. A liquid antacid like Maalox can save the day – or night.
The oils from the peppers during chopping can also cause coughing and other respiratory distress, including asthma. Wear a mask and goggles if needed.
Repeat after us: peppers are not for wimps. Take it slow. Build up your tolerance gradually with small amounts, and encourage your gift recipients to do the same.
Try my Nuts offers more than nuts, although we have those too. For those who don’t see a foreseeable future in planting peppers, we have nuts that will make your slap your mama - check out our Ass Kickin’ nuts and our other run-for-your-life selections right here: https://www.trymynuts.com/Hot-Nuts
Not sure which nut is right for you? No worries - give us a call today. We’ll help you choose for yourself and all the nuts on your list.