Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 05, 2012 Features / Columnists, Tony Deyal column
Scorpion sting me,
Ah feeling ah go dead,
Darling if you love me,
Come lie down in me bed.
Sundar Popo (Chutney singer)
If you want something hotter than the scantily-clad ladies gyrating in the many Carnival bands in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, last week you need to take a trip to the deep south east coast of the country to the fishing village of Moruga. Not Rio, neither New Orleans, can produce the heat that has made Moruga famous.
There was a time when Moruga was a sleepy little fishing village famous for its “babash” or what the website WiWords.com defines as “An extremely potent over-proof rum with a fearsome reputation.” It is what Americans would call “moonshine” but much hotter. It is reputedly the best accompaniment to “wild meat” like the agouti and deer hunted in the surrounding forests.
The only other reason for going to Moruga was consulting a seer or “obeah” man – as one folk song said, “Down Moruga Road,/ down Moruga Road,/ looking for obeah man,/ down Moruga Road.” While the babash could burn a hole in your liver and eat its way clear through your stomach, and the obeah man could turn up the heat on your rivals and in your prospective bridegroom, the Moruga Scorpion pepper has been deemed the hottest in the world.
A February 16, 2012, article in the Food section of ABC News, proclaimed, “Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Crowned World’s Hottest Pepper”. According to the article, “Although it might look like a sweet red pepper that spent too much time in the sun, don’t be fooled by the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, crowned the hottest chile pepper in the world by experts at New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute. Director of the Chile Institute, Paul Bosland, told the Associated Press about the Scorpion, which hails from the south coast of Trinidad. “You take a bite. It doesn’t seem so bad,” he said. “And then it builds and it builds and it builds. So it is quite nasty.”
The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion hit 1.2 million heat units on the Scoville scale compared to the mild jalapeno, which hit about 5,000 heat units.” Another report stated, “The Habanero pepper has a maximum hotness of 350,000 Scoville Heat Units. That’s nothing—like eating an Altoid (breath mint)—compared to the mouth-searing Trinidad Moruga Scorpion.”
In fact, the Bhut Jolokia or “Ghost” pepper that in 2007 was deemed the hottest did not have the ghost of a chance in this contest. Even though it put up a spirited effort, it burnt out in the home stretch.
The ABC article explained that researchers were pushed by hot sauce makers, seed producers and others in the spicy food industry to establish the average heat levels for super-hot varieties in an effort to quash unscientific claims of which peppers are actually the hottest. The University team grew about 125 plants of each ‘super hot’ chile pepper variety — the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, the Trinidad Scorpion, the 7-pot, the Chocolate 7-pot and the Bhut Jolokia, the previous winner certified hottest by Guinness World Records in 2007, beating out the Red Savina.
Peppers were randomly selected, dried and ground until researchers could extract the compounds that produce heat, called capsaicinoids. The process was associated with the smell of burning rubber, not from tires, or friction due to rapid and forceful contact, but the capsaicinoids which were so strong that they penetrated researchers’ latex gloves.
According to the ABC story, the pepper from the little fishing village is already making waves in the industry and among those who love their hot, spicy foods. ‘As with all the previous record holders, there will be a run on seeds and plants,’ Jim Duffy, San Diego chile pepper grower, told the Associated Press. ‘Like Cabbage Patch dolls right before Christmas or Beanie Babies, it’s like the hot item.’
What physical effect does the pepper, also known as ‘Brain Strain’, cause when it’s eaten? Many of those brave enough to try – who use such names as Firehead Thomas or Ted the Firebreathing Idiot – have posted online videos showing the symptoms: The eyes widen and tear. Sweat starts to drip.
The subject winces, grimaces and hops. It is said the tongue can be numb for days. ‘Whew, back of my throat, my tongue, it’s filling up my tongue,’ Firehead Thomas says in one video. ‘It’s pretty intense. It really heats your tongue, and it’s building. Man, my tongue is on fire! Having trouble talking. Oh, it’s bad. … This is killer.’”
I am sure that I have eaten Moruga Scorpion but not as a solo dish. I had it in a concoction called “mother-in-law” which is based on the conviction that the mother-in-law is always “hotter” than the bride. The hottest peppers are generally part of the mix. I know that my Uncle Jacket ate the Scorpion and took it in stride. He used to sit with his lunch and side dishes of a hot, raw pepper, a fresh radish (known as “moorai”) and an onion.
Before his meal he would have a drink or two of over-proof or puncheon rum to “build up” his appetite. He would then eat a handful of food, take a searing crunch of the pepper, a bite of the onion and a teary-eyed mouthful of radish and go through the ritual until the food was finished.
During his meal he had a tumbler of water which he sipped – no huge swallows, no running to the tap for more water. Dessert was generally another drink or two to help the food digest. I never saw him declare any pepper too hot or any rum too strong. The only time I ever saw his eyes water was when he mistook a bottle of puncheon rum for cold water and having put away a shot glass of rum reached for what he thought was the water and downed it as chaser.
Had my Uncle Jacket been around, I would have set up a contest between him and the Moruga Scorpion. However, in his absence, if you decide to make the pilgrimage to Moruga in search of the Scorpion sensation, when you get there please state explicity what you’re there for. If you just ask for the “hot stuff” you might be in for a surprise. You might end up with a mother-in-law or two.
*Tony Deyal was last seen saying that instead of putting a scorpion in their Vodka, the distillers should put a scorpion pepper to make it “Absolut-ly” hot.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 28, 2024
Minister Ramson challenge athletes to better last year’s performance By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports – Guyana’s 23-member contingent for the CARIFTA Games in Grenada is set to depart the...B.V. Police Station Kaieteur News – The Beterverwagting Police Station, East Coast Demerara (ECD) will be reconstructed... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – In the face of escalating global environmental challenges, water scarcity and... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]