I saw a TV show where a guy is making a soup that is too hot for anyone to finish, but the hottest looking pepper he used was Bhut Jolokias. He blended up many different peppers and then cooked them down a bit. I undertsand how extract works and I understand how water can be removed from something and it can be stronger, but I was curious about something. If the strongest pepper is a Bhut Jolokia and lest say those particular peppers actually did have a heat factor of 1,000,000 SHUs, what could be the heat rating of this mash that has been cooked down? If it was just bhuts, could the mash be more like 3M, or something like that? I'm just curious because if you can eat a couple of bhuts, or even scorpions, you should be able to finish this soup, but nobody as done it so far.
-
If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in Startup Help.
cooking cooking down peppers
- Thread starter cycadjungle
- Start date
You are really just asking about dehydrating I would say the upper bound would be that it would be the same kick as bhut powder. The reason i say upper bound is that capscaisin (sp) is a volatile compound and will, to some degree "cook off" or evaporate with heat.
I believe scoville is a level or total measure not a relative or rate measure. Thus if you have a 1,000,000 scovilles to start with that is the most you can end with. Concentrating 1,000,000 scoviles into something lighter or smaller is still 1,000,000 scovilles.
I know what you mean when you are asking about cooking down but your units will have to change.
I believe scoville is a level or total measure not a relative or rate measure. Thus if you have a 1,000,000 scovilles to start with that is the most you can end with. Concentrating 1,000,000 scoviles into something lighter or smaller is still 1,000,000 scovilles.
I know what you mean when you are asking about cooking down but your units will have to change.
hum... SO lets say they started out with 10 peppers each with 1m scoville units. Each pepper was cooked down to its smallest state - no SHU was compromised so each still has 1m. Then, all ten pods were mixed into "soup" that happens to have 50% less moisture in it than was cooked off the peppers in the first place.
The net result would be a soup that is hotter than the sum of its parts... no?
I use the word soup lightly, because I think its going to be closer to a paste.
The net result would be a soup that is hotter than the sum of its parts... no?
I use the word soup lightly, because I think its going to be closer to a paste.
Each spoonfull will be more picante. However the SHUs will be the same. Capscaiscin (sp) per spoon will increase but the SHUs will be exactly the same and the amount of capscaicin will be the same.
let me use an analogy. i shoot you with with 500 grains of lead because you got lippy. You bleed out and die. You still have 500grains of lead in you.
No, I understand that part... But the test to determine shu checks for the amount of capsaicinoids in a given oz of material (usually peppers, but in this case soup), if one can increase the concentration of capsaicinoids in the "soup", if later tested, the SHU would be higher.
I realize that the testing of pepper materials in SHUs doesn't really apply to what I am asking about, but I really don't know the proper terminology. I am hoping people understand what I am asking. The deal is, they have this bowl of soup that if you can finish it in a half hour, they will hand you $1000 and nobody has finished a bowl yet. They showed what he put in the soup and there were about 25 peppers, but just from knowing what I was looking at, there were no red peppers that looked like 7 pods, or scorpions. The hostest were the bhuts. The soup itself was pretty watery looking and then it had a bunch of noddles and some mixed vegetables in it. The volume wasn't so large that just being able to eat it in a half hour wouldn't be a problem, apparently its just because its hot. Well, a group of us are going over there in the next week or two, and about half of us are going to try a bowl and see what happens. The other half are just going to laugh at the ones who THINK they can eat it. (I'm not sure which half I am in yet)
I was just wondering about what makes it so hot? The cooked down peppers, or just the fact that you are eating so many hot peppers in one sitting.
I was just wondering about what makes it so hot? The cooked down peppers, or just the fact that you are eating so many hot peppers in one sitting.
You would be making a concentrate, which would be hotter by volume. So yes, one spoonful, hotter, as compared to one spoonful, not reduced. You are packing more cap into a smaller package.
If you still don't get it think of it in reverse. Add a bunch of water to the pot. A spoonful is not as hot as compared to a spoonful before the water. Less cap by volume.
But the amount of cap in the pot stays the same.
Well...
Now factor in the loss of capsaicin into the air while reducing (the coughing while cooking, etc.) and you may bring the actual heat down
If you still don't get it think of it in reverse. Add a bunch of water to the pot. A spoonful is not as hot as compared to a spoonful before the water. Less cap by volume.
But the amount of cap in the pot stays the same.
Well...
Now factor in the loss of capsaicin into the air while reducing (the coughing while cooking, etc.) and you may bring the actual heat down