Some like it Hot: Eat the Red Savina Pepper at Your Own Risk

Have you ever had to sign a waiver before eating a meal in a restaurant? According to a Reuters (www.reuters.com) report, you will if you choose to eat the hot wings prepared at Jake Melnick's Chicago tavern, the Corner Tap.

These hot wings are not every day hot wings that have just a bit of kick to them. No, these hot wings are prepared with Red Savina Peppers, one of the world's hottest chili peppers. The wings prepared with Red Savina peppers are so hot, diners who choose to order them have to sign a waiver, and are provided with a bell to call a waiter should they need immediate assistance in the form of sour cream, milk, sugar, and white bread, to cool their burning lips and tongue.

The Red Savina pepper is cultivated from the habanero chili pepper, but has been specifically bred to produce larger peppers that are heavier and hotter than the habanero.

Samples of the Red Savina pepper have measured as high as 580,000 Scoville units, about twice the heat of the habanero pepper and 65 times the heat of a jalapeno pepper. In fact, Red Savina peppers are so hot, they are not even sold to minors; you must be at least 18 years of age to buy Red Savina peppers and products made from Red Savina peppers.

The Scoville unit, named after its inventor, chemist William Scoville is used to measure the hotness of peppers. The Scoville test was devised in 1912, and is still the most accurate and detailed way to measure the pungency of peppers, including the Red Savina pepper.

The list below will give you some idea of how the Red Savina pepper compares to other peppers. All numbers provided are based on Scoville units.

Bell pepper - 0 SHU

Pepperoncini - 100-500

Poblano - 1,000-1,500

Jalapenos and Chipolte - 2,500 to 10,000

Serrano - 5,000-23,000

Cayenne - 30,000 to 50,000

Habenero, Scotch Bonnet - 80,000 and up

Red Savina - 577,000

Extreme "sports" come in all varieties. For some, eating food prepared with Red Savina peppers provides all the excitement and adrenaline rush they need.

I think I'll stick to regular hot wings that are more than hot enough for me, but if you want an extremely spicy challenge, why not try hot wings made with Red Savina peppers? Just be sure to have plenty of sour cream, white bread, milk and sugar on hand, to extinguish the heat should it become unbearable.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Savina_pepper

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-12-24-0002.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale

http://in.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idINN0425675720080104

http://www.redsavina.com/