CRUSH bin #090 - September 2010
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Our Hottest Issue Ever
By John Gilchrist
The Heat
[Excerpt]CAPSAICIN: Found primarily in the seeds and membranes of a chili pepper, this flavorless compound gives chili peppers their fiery heat. Because it has no flavor, capsaicin does not affect taste buds but instead the pain receptors in the mouth. The only way to reduce the heat in a pepper is to remove its seeds. Capsaicin is often used as a decongestant and has been shown to produce endorphins in the brain that stimulate a sense of well-being.
Plus: The Scoville Scale, Beating The Heat, and Releasing Endorphins.
Peppers
[Excerpt]BHUT JOLOKIA: Often called the "ghost chili," the Bhut Jolokia is generally recognized as the hottest chili pepper in the world. The Bhut Jolokia is a naturally-occurring hybrid from the Assam region of northeastern India. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Bhut Jolokia as the worldÕs hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.
Plus 7 more peppers and their Scoville rating.
SAUCY
[Excerpt]JASON GRASTY, ROY'S: My favorite hot sauce by far is Crystal, made in New Orleans. It's available at most grocery stores now, is cheap (about a dollar a bottle), and goes well with literally everything. The heat index is just right for the average consumer, allowing the true flavor of the peppers to come through. The vinegar level is just right as well, not overwhelming the final product like other sauces (Tabasco). There are thousands of hot sauces out there with crazy names and heat indexes that are designed to literally torch your palate, not what I'm looking for in a hot sauce. So in short, it may not be the most glamorous one out there, but you can't go wrong with Crystal.
Plus 9 other chefs weigh in.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
- Retail Wine Selections
- Jalapeno Peach Sorbet from Cru
- Sir Lucky Day's "Pillars of Hades" chili recipe
- Dogfish Head's ridiculous "ancient ale" the Theobroma
- Abita helps "Save Our Shore" with their S.O.S. beer
- The Cigar Bar's Cigar of the Month: Alec Bradley Cigars
- Calendar of Events