Thursday, October 8, 2009

Gee, it's hot

I harvested lots of these little hot peppers, habaneros, from my garden this summer but nobody wants to eat them because they are so hot! My son's girlfriend saw them and suggested that I dip them in chocolate. Hmmm, chocolate is great with everything, right? So I washed and dried the peppers completely. Then I melted down some chocolate in a bowl. I dipped the habanero peppers into the chocolate mix and coated them all over with the stems still attached like chocolate covered cherries. Gosh, they looked good! I took a couple of dozen with me to the church where I was working with the bookkeeper this morning. I offered the chocolate peppers around but since no one wanted one, I decided to try one. I took a little nibble. It was good! Then I bit off a little more. It was getting really hot but I could still handle it. I ate the whole thing, minus the seeds and the stem, of course. My lips burned and my throat and stomach felt a little funny. I chugged my coke but that didn't help much. My friend offered me a peppermint. Take it from me, that does not help the burn! Peppermints are hot in their own way. Anyway, I knew the burning would get better eventually so we went to work.

Some time later, I began to feel really bad inside, like I couldn't breathe. I went to the bathroom and I got the sweats but I didn't feel any better. Can you die of cardiac arrest from eating hot peppers?? I felt like I was going into analphalaxis, an alergic reaction. I was thinking that I was probably in a good place to die, being in a church. And then I remembered that I still needed to get my will done.
I remembered that there was some little individual tubs of ice cream in the freezer so I grabbed one. The best way to cure spicy heat is with milk products, not water. I opened it and started eating the cold stuff by the spoonful. I immediately started feeling better. Soon I felt well enough to go back into the office. Everyone thought I looked really pale. I threw all those chocolate peppers away.
I told my son about it and he wants to try one. Well, I still have some left but I'm not so sure I should let him try one. He told me that he went to a fiery foods show and they offered him some habanero paste on a toothpick. He said he almost passed out. Maybe we ARE allergic to them. Oh my!!

Anyone want some really hot delicacies?



Gee, it's hot - song: Drive in Saturday, artist: David Bowie, album: Aladdin Sane

7 comments:

Dan and Betty said...

Those little suckers are deadly. I'm glad you're OK now.

Dan

lytha said...

so that's what habaneros look like!

last week we went to a party and they had hired a company from berlin to make us "Authentic Berlin Bratwurst".

i found out, as i waited in the huge line to get one, that there are 5 levels of spicyness. i said, "oh, i'm goin for #5!"

as i got closer and closer, i could read the sign describing the levels.

1 thru 3 was normal, 4 thru 6 was considered "professional level hot".

i thought, "i can do 5. i'm american! nothing in germany that says spicy has been spicy, so far."

but then i read the profi level descriptions. level 4 was called "Pain" and was seasoned with habanero powder.

level 5 was called "Ground Zero"

level 6 was something about going to hell.

i started to get nervous.

i heard no one order above a 3. in fact, only the daring men were ordering a level 3.

i stepped up and said "level 4"

everyone stared. the guy cooking bratwurst looked at me and said "sure?"

yes, i'm american, and i'm sure.

he sprinkled habanero powder and everyone gasped and stood back.

i took it happily and dove in.

it was a creeping burning that immediately made tears come to my eyes, and my nose started to run.

i kept on with it, and everyone was freaking out, they were so impressed! i said "it's all good, i can do this. can i have a tissue?"

20 minutes later i went back and ordered another one.

whew that was hot, but i am no profi!

i would not, NOT have tried your peppers!

~lytha, who ordered pain, and got what she ordered.

jane augenstein said...

WOW!!! Those things are definately way to hot to eat for me! My husband chopps them fine and mixes them with mustard; I won't touch them. When I did try them my stomach hurt too, my throat and lips were on fire, eyes watered, my eyelids started sweating (I didn't know your eyelids could sweat!) felt like I could get my breath either! Man, oh, man wicked HOT!!!
Glad the ice cream helped!
Jane

Grey Horse Matters said...

Wow, now that's hot! I wouldn't eat one. I was told once that a slice of bread helps to stop the burning, but I'm not sure that's right, I'm not willing to find out either.

Unknown said...

We used to get a whole string of them every year from my moms best friend in Florida. She has to pick hers with rubber gloves and not touch them because they are so hot. We strung them up to dry and then crunched them up and put them into a container to add tiny bits at a time to chili and such.

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Dan- yeah, it was crazy, wierd, and scary.

Jane- I don't know if I'll EVER eat one again.

Lytha- you are truly brave!!

Grey Horse- Yes, bread is a good way of cooling the heat too.

Sydney- we usually string up chili peppers and make a ristra but I think I will dry these out.

The Wades said...

You poor thing! That sounds so terrible. Glad it all passed.