Think again!
That’s right; the chili peppers you know are just the beginning. Okay, in fairness, we’re probably a lot further down the evolutionary road than that. But, we’re nowhere close to being done with the chili pepper revolution.
How do we know?
For a start, hot sauces are getting hotter. We’re not talking about extracts either; we mean hot sauces. Our new Collector’s Gold Edition is proof of that with a scorching million-plus Scoville. That’s heat that not everyone can handle (you can, we know; we’re not talking about you). And, don’t think that we’ve hit the limit either.
Consider that 100,000 Scoville was once the hottest you could get your hands on. (You may also want to remember that the first cayenne pepper sauces were likely as hot as 5000 Scoville; and if that makes you think of the baby rides at amusement parks, we don’t blame you.)
Chili peppers themselves are getting hotter. There are certainly hybrids about to hit the market that put the Carolina Reaper to shame. And after we crack that ceiling, we’ll start seeing chilies that push the 3 million Scoville mark.
Ashley Foods’ Locally Grown Chili Peppers
In 2013, we harvested our first locally grown crop and have continued to expand our chili pepper operations from that point onwards. We’ve got about 13,000 chili pepper plants producing the most exquisite peppers you’ve ever seen – and we’re doing it in Massachusetts.
Along with simply growing more peppers – and plenty of them hotter peppers – we’re working on Mad Dog Mutants. Yep, these are peppers you just won’t find anywhere else. Some of them will be ridiculously hot while others will introduce you to new, incredible flavors. We’re working on those now, only a few years after planting our first chili pepper crops.
Can you imagine what they’ll look like in a few years’ time? (We can barely picture the changes ourselves.)
New Forms of Peppers
Yes, you read that right. Remember when garlic was only sold as bulbs? Then you could get it pre-minced. Then it was sold in a paste. You can expect similar changes to hit the chili pepper market. It’s not just about fresh and dried peppers anymore. It’s not even about hot sauces and extracts at this point. We’re taking the format of chili peppers and adapting it to make it even easier to sneak inside your favorite meals and dishes. (You’ll want to stay tuned for that.)
Now, we’re not saying that we’ll bust through the 16 million (pure) Scoville mark when it comes to heat (or that anyone would be able to tolerate it if we did – maybe not even you). We doubt chili peppers will develop wings and fly.
All we’re saying is that we’re not done with chili peppers – anywhere close. And perhaps we’ll never be. Isn’t that delicious?