You know there is a difference between hot sauces and ridiculously hot chili sauces, don’t you?
But, if you’re not a chili head, you may not have any idea just what that difference is. After all, if adding a few drops of Tabasco to your meals is what you consider spicing it up, then you’ll be totally floored when you get a taste of a ridiculously hot chili sauce.
It All Starts with the Scoville Scale
About a century ago, Wilbur Scoville created the basis for the Scoville Scale. This American pharmacist wanted a way to measure and gauge the intensity of heat found within chili peppers. At the time, he wasn’t concerned with chili sauces (ridiculously hot or otherwise) because these were simply not known as a consumer condiment at the time.
Scoville used human test subjects to figure out the relative heat of chili peppers. They were given a sample of chili extract, and they were assigned a ranking, or number, based on the amount of dilution required to make it palatable. As you can guess, there was plenty of room for error, but it was a start.
Today, we still rank chilies, and chili sauces according to the Scoville scale. Ridiculously hot chili sauces start at around 100,000 Scoville and can range up to about a million Scoville. To put that in perspective, you need to know that green bell peppers rate a zero and pure pepper extract is 16 million Scoville. Tabasco only carries 5000 Scoville, so it’s easy to see the difference between this and ridiculously hot chili sauces.
Why Do You Want Such Scorchingly Hot Sauce?
There are a number of reasons that you’ll want to get your hands on a few bottles of ridiculously hot chili sauce. It’s the amount of capsaicin that’s found within these bottles that make these condiments so incredible. Capsaicin is the active ingredient that gives chili peppers their heat. The amount of capsaicin that a chili pepper has determines where it falls on the Scoville Scale. And, the more capsaicin you consume, the more of these benefits you’re likely to reap:
Capsaicin triggers the release of endorphins into your system. That’s because your body reacts as if you are in pain and your brain works to release something that will help you deal with that: happy hormones.
From stopping heart attacks to curing headaches, capsaicin is a bit of a miracle worker. It will also help you to lose weight and has the potential to reverse the effects of diabetes. Although some of these effects are still undergoing laboratory testing, this is one thing that may just make you healthier without any permanent side effects. You are, of course, going to experience a sensational burn when you consume such a condiment
Not everyone can eat ridiculously hot chili sauce. You know that – and everyone else knows it too. So, it’s a bit like an accomplishment, isn’t it? And the hotter the sauce, the more respect you’ll command. It’s just that simple.
Choosing Ridiculously Hot Chili Sauces
Now that you’re in the know, it’s time to get your hands on a bottle of ridiculously hot chili sauce, isn’t it? But, how are you meant to do that when the shelves are crammed full of mild sauces like Tabasco and hotter sauces that you’ve never heard of?
Your best bet is to start by considering the Scoville rankings. There are bottles like the original Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce that advertise the Scoville level found within. Incidentally, that 357 indicates 357,000 Scoville (and yes, that is a terrifically hot sauce, though you can get hotter still). But, not all sauces provide their Scoville ranking. That’s because, quite often, it varies based on the peppers used. So, rather than an individual Scoville rating, some ridiculously hot chili sauces have a range instead. But, if this has you stumped, then look on the label for the types of peppers included; those that have ghost peppers or scorpions are likely to fall into the category of ridiculously hot chili sauces.
Good luck with these sauces! They’re totally worth it, but that doesn’t mean they won’t kick your butt (because they will).
