As we begin to experiment in the kitchen with our local produce we are bound to make a few mistakes here and there right? Nothing is labeled and everything looks beautiful, big bins of brightly colored fruits and vegetables for pennies a piece.
The other night on our way home from the beach we walked passed the veggie truck, we decided to make a salad for dinner and picked up some tomatoes, cucumbers, and at the last minute a few of the most perfect peppers we'd ever seen.
I knew that the variety was probably spicy, but I'm usually up for the challenge. I like my food covered in black pepper, I'm a big fan of hot sauces, I frequently use chilies in my cooking, but I don't think that anything can prepare you for the heat of a Habanero. After slicing and seeding them I took the tiniest piece and barely brought it to my lips before realizing I was in big trouble.
Of course I couldn't experience this alone and coaxed Alex into trying a piece as well, surely he would never believe how incredibly hot they were. Needless to say it took about an hour or more for our tongues to come back to life and probably another day before I could touch my skin with my hands and not feel it burn. The Scoville heat index of a Habanero chili can range from 150,000 to 350,000.
The moral of this story is when purchasing peppers from a truck, always ask if they are "caliente?" and when told si, just ask one more time "muy caliente?" to be sure what you are getting yourself into.
These beauties stayed out on our counter for days, untouched, making a fantastic centerpiece.
ROFL! Habaneros are the hottest peppers on the planet! One way I have cooked with these Bad Boys of the Chile World, is this: when making split pea soup, veggie style (sans ham hock), I will toss in one or two habaneros as the soup simmers. BUT, I tie a thread to the whole chile (do not cut it up), and I only let it simmer in the soup for 1/2 of the cook time. The heat permeates the soup and I can use the thread to yank out the chiles before the soup gets to flaming hot.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea, thanks for the tip. We were wondering if there would be anyway to salvage them but were too gun shy to try. Next tortilla soup, I think I'll give it a shot!
ReplyDeleteI coat most of my food in black pepper as well and love spicy foods....never tried a habanero and so I thank you for trying it for me!
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