The festivities eventually had to be moved inside. Late night, someone thought it would be cool to throw some ground organic habanero powder into a pan with some hot olive oil. The fumes became unbearable to the point where there was actually a rush of about twenty five people for the door. Anyway, it was a blast…definitely looking forward to next year! Good food, good friends, and barbed wire around the perimeter, what more can you ask for? Much thanks to Healy and Ryan Murphy for hosting the event!

Enjoy the pics!

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Yesterday, Del and I swung down to St. James Gate in Maplewood for all you can eat wings provided by the crew at Defcon. We arrived around one in the afternoon. The bar was packed with hot wing conneisseurs. I immediately shouted for a long trail draft and hit the wing stand hard! They had three grades of sauce for the public to sample (Mild, Medium, and Very Hot). Devo and I started with three mediums and one hot each. I found the mediums to be extra tasty, an excellent mix of that tang that I have come to expect in a good wing sauce, accompanied by a slow steady release of sting. Then it came time to try the hot….I didn’t really realize the intense heat of the sauce until I took a swig of beer, and then another and another, then I realized the lingering pain would not subside. Needless to say, we took a subsequent break from the VERY HOT (aptly named) and retreated back to the medium grade. At that point I couldn’t taste any heat in the medium grade wings (taste buds were totally burnt out) so I sucked down another Long Trail (or three???) and went back for some more very hots ( a machismo thing I guess). Anyway, I found them to be more tolerable the second time around, but it still took me almost ten minutes to eat three wings which is definitely a first! Some friends showed up, only one of whom had the guts to try a wing on wing day. She had one very hot and was runnin’ for the hills. The heat was so intense that she got three completely naked wings after that and would not try any more sauce. Apparently they had a little contest in which contestants had to consume ten wings in four minutes without drinking anything before having to sit and flail for another four minutes in order to win a prize (some sauce or a shirt I imagine). Needless to say there were no takers from our group.

Eventually, I introduced myself to the owner and handed him a bottle of Joe’s #1 Jalapa which he very much appreciated. I thanked his wife for warning me about the very hot, before purchasing a 16 ounce bottle of the medium grade sauce. When I asked them if I could get a picture, the owner (whose named I already zoned out on) insisted that he put on the gear which consisted of a full gas mask set up with the “hazardous” effects (see photos below).

I’m looking forward to their next appearance which is in Union, NJ some time next month. Cool people….kick-ass sauce!

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     If you find yourself in a situation in which you are experiencing the physiological effects of capsaicin overload, it is best to either consume dairy products such as milk or hard alcohol. The compounds found in milk block capsaicin receptor sites in the mouth while alcohol is effective in dissipating the capsaicin compound so that it can be swallowed. Drinking water will often spread the irritation, so try to avoid it.

     Capsaicin that gets on your skin will not degenerate significantly from washing with soap and water. I often use rubbing alcohol when I find that my hands are burning because of an accidental transfer of capsaicin. I would not recommend this for everyone, since some people with sensitive skin may have a negative reaction to rubbing alcohol.

     If you are one of those people who just can’t handle spicy food but wish you had more of a tolerance, try to slowly build a tolerance by consuming peppers with low grade heat, then gradually move up the scale (see Scoville Heat scale).

     Believe it or not, genetics, ancestry and cultural histories play a large part in determining whether or not someone may or may not have a tolerance to spicy food. Generally, Central and South Americans as well as people from India and North Africa have a higher tolerance for spicy food than Western and Eastern Europeans.

     Lastly, I would like to address the issue of ingesting large quantities of capsaicin. A good rule of thumb is: “Whatever burns on the way in, will burn on the way out”. This is because the mucus membranes and soft tissue that line your mouth are very similar to those found in your rectum. I know it is not the most appetizing thing to think about, but it is worth mentioning. I have personally noticed that consuming a bite of a fresh pepper (even a habanero or dare I say a Naga Jolokia (Indian Ghost Pepper >1,000,000 Scoville Units)) produces less discomfort than some processed artificially flavored hot sauce that contains synthetically altered or concentrated capsaicin. Also, take into account that the Scoville heat scale, as groundbreaking and informative as it is, is not an absolute. I have had roasted jalapeno peppers that were hotter than roasted cayenne peppers. I have also consumed cayenne peppers off the vine that were hotter than fresh habanero peppers.

     The name of the pepper comes from the city of Jalapa, Mexico in which the plant originates. At Central Farms, we have experimented with many strains of Jalapenos such asthe early variety, jumbos, purple jalapenos as well as the traditional jalapa variety. Jalapenos can be picked and roasted when they are all green but will eventually turn red and get a bit hotter.

     At Benito’s, we use jalapenos in Joe’s #1 Jalapa (naturally). They provide a fantastic base for a classic salsa verde which includes all natural cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice to produce a quintessential citrus sizzle.

      The cayenne pepper originated in the city of Cayenne which is the capital of French Guiana. At Central Farms, we prefer a strain of Cayennes known as super twos because they are very resilient during the extremely hot and dank Watchung Valley summers. They are also quite resistant to dry rot (a pepper farmer’s worst nightmare).Also, this particular variety produces a very high yield. We have also tried the jumbo variety, the Carolina long slim, as well as various Indian varieties. It is best to pick cayenne peppers when they turn a full on fire engine red color. Usually, the rule is: the longer you wait for the peppers to mature, the hotter they will get. Cayennes have what is considered a medium length growing season.

      We use only homegrown, organic cayenne peppers in our Old Bricktucky Cayenne. Thesauce is a unique break from your traditional strict cayenne and vinegar concoctions. It is a distinct blend of organic cayenne peppers, cinnamon, paprika, and bell peppers. It is fantastic on pork chops or on a nice loaf of cornbread. But like all of our sauces, it is quite versatile in thatit goes well with pretty much anything.

      The name habanero has an obvious Cuban connotation (Habana or Havana). However,it is widely accepted that the strain originated somewhere in South America or Meso-America. At Central Farms,we have grown red savinas, chocolate habaneros, orange habaneros, golden habaneros, as well as green habaneros. Since the habanero plant requires a rather long growing season, we supplement our yield with shipments of fresh organic orange habaneros from the American Southwest. The great thing about habaneros is that one pod can go a long way. Whether fresh or dried, you only need a bit to spice up any meal.

      At Benito’s Hot Sauce, we currently use 100% organic orange habaneros in our Original Naranja and Mango Habanero as well as our White Hot (aka Guido Killer). So obviously, these three sauces are much hotter than the other two. The Naranja is what started it all, perhaps the most fresh tasting multipurpose hot sauce on the market today. Our Mango Habanero is a classic, organically inspired balance of sweet and heat. And the White Hot is probably the closest one can get to a flavorful habanero extract without using any artificial flavoring or synthesized capsaicin based additives.