Okay guys, this is going to be an on-going thread as I get my hands on various different pods. Now, I'm going to be going with a completely different format than others do. Why? Because between 2 jobs I can't take the risk of having fire belly for a full day (exactly what happened with the Butch T TS), something that never happens to me if I cook with a full pod in comparison to eating the pod straight. Also, this will give a slightly different take than what everyone is use to: how the peppers taste and how their heat infuses into the food. I will always give the grower credit for their pod, so people will know the exact source (in case there's ever any question, or someone swears theirs are hotter or taste different, yadda yadda yadda).
Presently, the test will be 1 full pod (diced and de-seeded) in a single pack of oriental Ramen. The FULL steps (so it's a repeatable process) is add 1 1/2 cups water, the season mix, 1 clove garlic, and 1 pod and bring it to a boil. From there, noodles get thrown in and I boil it down until there's only 1/4th of a cup of water. Why go this route? Simple.
1.) Ramen costs next to nothing. If I DO manage to come across something that's just too hot to consume, I won't feel like an idiot over wasting a $10 steak.
2.) This is a completely controlled process, there are NO out-side factors to change the out-come, the only variable is which pepper is put in.
3.) The noodles seem to absorb the cap. in my stomach pretty well, never had a problem with ring sting or fire belly this way.
4.) Cooking the water down that far ends up concentrating the cap. in the remaining fluid, as well as all over the noodles.
5.) I'll NEVER find myself too full to finish the bowl, if I can't eat it (or I slow down drastically), it's because of the heat; the exact situation I'm going for.
Anyway, now that that's all out of the way, lets begin.
Butch T Trinidad Scorpion from Butch T.
If ever there was a name that has brought fear and respect at the same time into the hearts of the chileheads, it's Butch T. After all, the guy has a world record pepper literally named after him. That said, people generally claim that these bad boys are bitter as can be (some even puking due to it), causing some people to grow an almost hatred for the pods. When used for cooking, however, that bitterness is practically removed, giving the pepper quite a different taste.
Anyway, about halfway through the boiling of the noodles I decided to taste the broth. Just a drop of it at this point was enough to give my tongue quite the burning sensation. At this point I knew I was in trouble, while my woman sat at the kitchen table laughing at me. From there I tasted one of the noodles, and that noodle was by far the hottest ramen noodle I've ever eaten, my face turned a bit red just from that. When it finally finished cooking, I threw it in a bowl and sat down, my woman wide eyed in anticipation to see the after-math of how this was going to end.
It only took 3 bites before my lips, tongue, and throat were on FIRE. The taste almost seemed slightly habanero like for a split second before my taste buds shut down and my entire mouth went numb other than the burning sensation. By bite 5? I was sounding like a drunken high school kid on Xanax trying to tell his friends about how he got the beer. About half-way through the bowl, my nose was running like crazy, sweating up a storm, but still holding strong. Full mouth burn due to the nature of how ramen noodles are (the water aspect). By 3/4ths of the way through the bowl I was slowing down like crazy; the heat wasn't dying down in the slightest during small breaks. It literally took me over 15 minutes to finish this bowl (I grew up in a family of 6 where you have to eat military style if you wanted a decent portion or it was gone, 15 minutes for me with ramen is a LONG time!). Hottest thing I've EVER eaten.
I didn't bother clocking how long it took for the heat to finally go away, but I know my mouth was STILL on fire 15 minutes after I ate it. The lip burn actually came back a few times over the course of the next hour. These are HOT peppers!
Heat level: 10 (from here on in, these peppers will be my baseline for a 10; if something is hotter, it'll become the new baseline)
Next up will be the Barrackpore from Romy6. Expect that one to be posted tomorrow. Also, considering I do cook daily meals with super-hots, if people want I can post up some of the cooking ideas I end up with for each individual pepper (although, these will NOT be counted in the review, I want everything to be as controlled and repeatable as humanly possible so that each pod gets a fair review).
Presently, the test will be 1 full pod (diced and de-seeded) in a single pack of oriental Ramen. The FULL steps (so it's a repeatable process) is add 1 1/2 cups water, the season mix, 1 clove garlic, and 1 pod and bring it to a boil. From there, noodles get thrown in and I boil it down until there's only 1/4th of a cup of water. Why go this route? Simple.
1.) Ramen costs next to nothing. If I DO manage to come across something that's just too hot to consume, I won't feel like an idiot over wasting a $10 steak.
2.) This is a completely controlled process, there are NO out-side factors to change the out-come, the only variable is which pepper is put in.
3.) The noodles seem to absorb the cap. in my stomach pretty well, never had a problem with ring sting or fire belly this way.
4.) Cooking the water down that far ends up concentrating the cap. in the remaining fluid, as well as all over the noodles.
5.) I'll NEVER find myself too full to finish the bowl, if I can't eat it (or I slow down drastically), it's because of the heat; the exact situation I'm going for.
Anyway, now that that's all out of the way, lets begin.
Butch T Trinidad Scorpion from Butch T.
If ever there was a name that has brought fear and respect at the same time into the hearts of the chileheads, it's Butch T. After all, the guy has a world record pepper literally named after him. That said, people generally claim that these bad boys are bitter as can be (some even puking due to it), causing some people to grow an almost hatred for the pods. When used for cooking, however, that bitterness is practically removed, giving the pepper quite a different taste.
Anyway, about halfway through the boiling of the noodles I decided to taste the broth. Just a drop of it at this point was enough to give my tongue quite the burning sensation. At this point I knew I was in trouble, while my woman sat at the kitchen table laughing at me. From there I tasted one of the noodles, and that noodle was by far the hottest ramen noodle I've ever eaten, my face turned a bit red just from that. When it finally finished cooking, I threw it in a bowl and sat down, my woman wide eyed in anticipation to see the after-math of how this was going to end.
It only took 3 bites before my lips, tongue, and throat were on FIRE. The taste almost seemed slightly habanero like for a split second before my taste buds shut down and my entire mouth went numb other than the burning sensation. By bite 5? I was sounding like a drunken high school kid on Xanax trying to tell his friends about how he got the beer. About half-way through the bowl, my nose was running like crazy, sweating up a storm, but still holding strong. Full mouth burn due to the nature of how ramen noodles are (the water aspect). By 3/4ths of the way through the bowl I was slowing down like crazy; the heat wasn't dying down in the slightest during small breaks. It literally took me over 15 minutes to finish this bowl (I grew up in a family of 6 where you have to eat military style if you wanted a decent portion or it was gone, 15 minutes for me with ramen is a LONG time!). Hottest thing I've EVER eaten.
I didn't bother clocking how long it took for the heat to finally go away, but I know my mouth was STILL on fire 15 minutes after I ate it. The lip burn actually came back a few times over the course of the next hour. These are HOT peppers!
Heat level: 10 (from here on in, these peppers will be my baseline for a 10; if something is hotter, it'll become the new baseline)
Next up will be the Barrackpore from Romy6. Expect that one to be posted tomorrow. Also, considering I do cook daily meals with super-hots, if people want I can post up some of the cooking ideas I end up with for each individual pepper (although, these will NOT be counted in the review, I want everything to be as controlled and repeatable as humanly possible so that each pod gets a fair review).
Can't wait to here the next review 
I guess I could review one of these Peach Bhuts, but I really don't want to do two different types of ghosts in the same week.