Dan from Madison emailed to thank me again for my doro wat recipe. I offered to send him some pepper seeds to spice it up. I recommended habanero golds and Trinidad Scorpions. These are big, red, juicy habaneros with fruity flavor and considerable sweetness.

I cut up a couple of peppers today to get seeds for him, and I decided to compare them. I cut a piece out of each pepper, about a quarter of an inch wide and an inch and a half long. I chewed and swallowed the habanero gold piece. It was tasty and very hot. I was able to tolerate the heat. I had a glass of ice water handy just in case, but I was okay.

Half an hour later, the heat was nearly gone, so I tried the Trinidad Scorpion. I coughed while I was chewing it. That should have told me something. Never eat a vegetable which has a tail and is named after a stinging bug.

As I started to realize how hot it was, I spat it out. I have been drinking ice water. I rinsed with olive oil and had to spit THAT out. Finally, I realized I had Chloraseptic in the bathroom, so I blasted my mouth with it, and sure enough, it toned down the pain.

This would be a great cheat if you ever got into a pepper-eating contest. But you would still pay a horrible price on the back end, pun intended. I strongly advise against it. You could end up in the emergency room. I don’t think it’s possible to injure yourself with peppers, but you can have a pretty bad time while your body employs violent means to expel the problem. Don’t make me draw a picture.

The conclusion: Trinidad Scorpions are pretty hot.

My Trinidad Scorpion bush is so big it fell over. I’d say it was five feet tall and four feet wide when it flopped. I have to tie it back up. It’s very productive. The habanero gold bush produces well, but it’s half as tall. Those are wonderful peppers. Loaded with flavor, and the LD50 is considerably higher. I don’t know what the Trinidad Scorpions are good for, apart from practical jokes, pest control, and self defense.

One day I’ll plant the 7 Pod pepper seeds I received. They’re supposed to be even worse.

I’m really enjoying Robert Morris’s book. I was so afraid it would be just another “get rich by sending me money” book by a corrupt pentecostal preacher, but it’s nothing like that. He lets those guys have it, in fact. Don’t judge it until you read the whole thing.