My Birthday was last Sunday, and I had an amazing weekend. I was kidnapped by a dozen crazed friends wearing silly outfits, stuffed into a balloon-filled party wagon, and taken on a an epic road trip that will go down in the annals of our collective friendship as one of the most awesome experiences we’ve shared.
The day after the road trip, on my actual birthday, I had cookout at my place. In the waning hours of the event, after some had gone home, those of us that remained thought that maybe we should kick it up a notch. And naturally, I figured what better way to cap off my birthday than by eating one of the hottest chilies in the world!
This being early spring, I had no fresh pods, but I did have a stash of dehydrated 7-pots that I harvested last fall. Game on.
For the uninitiated, the 7-pot is a relatively rare cultivar from Trinidad and is so-named, the story goes, because a single pod could easily heat seven pots of stew. They weigh in at around 1.2 million Scoville Heat Units. For comparison purposes, jalapenos are usually between 2,500 and 8,000 SHUs.
After reconstituting them with a little boiling water, I downed half of a formerly-more-than-golf-ball-sized pod. FYI, the pod was cut lengthwise.
Hilarity (?) ensued. Watch the video to see me feel the “vibrations!”
After my intense experience, the group pulled together a pile of filthy lucre to coax our friend who is known for generally preferring mild cuisine (We’ll call him “C-Money.”) into following suit.
So, I present these two impromptu pod tests for your edification and enjoyment. Unlike other reviewers, I encourage you to try this at home!
*For some reason the time and date got screwed up halfway through the second video. Since it takes many hours to render a video of this length and then upload it to YouTube, I’m just going to leave it like this. Apologies.
Bottom line: I’ve had fresh 7-pots before, and I can tell you that the flavor of these reconstituted ones is definitely not as good. The texture is horrible, as you might imagine: mushy, slightly chewy, and seedy. Dehydrated pods are best for making chili powders or for making hot sauces in the off-season when fresh pods aren’t available – or for doing funny chili challenges, of course. The heat of these dehydrated 7-pots is insane. Enjoy!
CHILIPHILE 