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Chile Pepper Facts

rp_numex-big-jim-chile-pepperChile Pepper Facts

Compiled by Eric Vinje of Cosmic Chile and Scott Roberts

• Two of the founding fathers of our country, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are both known to have grown chiles.

• Capsaicin is a colorless, pungent, crystalline compound, C18,H27,NO3.

• The shorter the molecular chain, the hotter the pepper.

• “Chili” and “chile” are different spellings of the pungent fruit of the capsicum, also called chilli (in the UK, Australia and New Zealand), chile pepper or chili pepper. But in the U.S., the spelling “chili” is a shortening of chili con carne, a ground beef stew that incorporates chile powder or chile peppers. And Chile, capitalized, is a country in South America.

• The heat from a chile pepper is concentrated in the interior veins or ribs near the seed heart, not in the seeds as is commonly believed…

Steve’s Hot Dogs on The Hill Pushes Expansion Effort

steves-molotov-hot-dogFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

steves-hot-dogs-logoSTEVE’S HOT DOGS ON THE HILL RETURNS TO GRASS ROOTS FOR EXPANSION EFFORT
Local musician owner Steve Ewing plans to crowd fund $15,000 to Expand to Tower Grove East

St. Louis, Mo., May 9, 2014Steve’s Hot Dogs on the Hill announces plans to expand to a second location in Tower Grove East in the City of St. Louis. Steve Ewing, restaurant owner and front man of the popular St. Louis-based band The Urge, plans to raise funds through the crowd funding website Indiegogo to help fund the expansion. Expansion of the restaurant is happening in tandem with the reopening of the famed Tick Tock Tavern at 3459 Magnolia. The campaign to fund Steve’s Hot Dogs’ expansion will launch June 2 and run through July 5.

Crowd funding is giving Steve, a St. Louis native, the opportunity to directly contact his grassroots following that has fueled his creative endeavors for more than two decades. Fans, customers and supporters of the Tower Grove neighborhood will be asked to support Steve’s Hot Dogs by making financial contributions to help cover the final expansion costs such as paint, flooring, appliances and a new kitchen. Giving levels will begin at $10 and continue up to $5,000. Each giving level will be associated with a specific perk such as free hot dogs and merchandise to a house concert given by Steve Ewing…

Interactive Periodic Table of the World’s Hottest Chile Peppers

interactive-scoville-scale-chartUK kitchen appliance store Appliance City has put together a pretty cool interactive Periodic Table of the world’s hottest chile peppers based on their ranking in the Scoville Heat Scale.

The periodic table has been sanctioned by my friend Jon Whaley of the Scoville Food Institute, who has been using this clever science-themed method for categorizing peppers for years.

Now, not only has this chart been made interactive, but also…

Tabasco Releases Its Own Sriracha Sauce

tabasco-sriracha-sauceI had mentioned last year that McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce, were developing their own version of what is undoubtedly the big hot sauce trend of 2014: Sriracha Sauce.

Coming in the midst of the controversy brewing that Huy Fong Foods, the makers of the current numero uno brand of Sriracha (their version is nicknamed “Rooster Sauce”, which I reviewed a few years back) is facing due to complaints of hometown Irwindale, California of its factory producing too much of a pungent odor, McIlhenny is now poised to strike into this booming sub-genre with its TABASCO® Brand Sriracha Thai Chili Sauce.

According to the product page on official TABASCO website

Review – Lucky Dog Hot Sauces – Pink, Purple and Black Labels

lucky-dog-hot-sauce-black-purple-pink-labelScott Zalkind (whom I interviewed for the Firecast Podcast last year) has proven himself to be one of the brightest talents to enter the hot sauce pool in the 2010s with his superb Lucky Dog Hot Sauces. Two years ago I covered his first three sauces in a review and gave them all above-average marks, and my son Kevin praised them even more almost literally one year ago to the day. Bottom line is, us Roberts boys like us some Lucky Dog Hot Sauces!

As a recap, the first three sauces Zalkind has released are colored as such: Green (Mild), Red (Medium) and Orange (Hot). Plus for clarification’s sake (more on the newer three in just a second), these aforementioned trio are all fire-roasted pepper sauces.

IBM “Watson” Computer Program Creates Its Own BBQ Sauce Recipe

ibm-watson-cognative-cooking-creates-bbq-sauce-recipe

In Austin, Texas, the IBM Watson Food Truck served up exotic dishes that explore computing’s culinary creativity, at the South by Southwest (SXSW) event. The recipes were created through a collaboration between IBM Watson and award-winning chefs at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education.

One such recipe was a BBQ sauce. Yes, that’s right, a recipe for a BBQ topper that was created solely by a computer program…

The Firecast Episode #54 – St. Louis BBQ Talk with Arthur Aguirre and Scott Thomas

firecast-ep-54-st-louis-bbq-talk-with-arthur-aguirre-and-scott-thomasThe Firecast with Scott Roberts: Firecast Podcast Episode #54 – St. Louis BBQ Talk with Arthur Aquirre and Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas of GrillinFools.com and BBQ author Arthur Aguirre take part in an extended discussion about all things grilling and barbecue, give outdoor cooking tips and toss around recipe ideas, and talk about the state of BBQ around the St. Louis, Missouri area.

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Ghost Pepper Cocktail Recipe

ghost-pepper-spicy-cocktail-recipeI got this idea from a loyal blog reader a few years back. It’s a simple chile pepper cocktail recipe that uses the heat and flavor of a dried bhut jolokia, AKA the ghost pepper.  While I usually prefer the fruity flavor of a fresh bhut jolokia, this recipe tastes fantastic with a bit of the earthiness and smokiness of a smoked jolokia.

Ingredients:
2 oz. of honey whiskey (Evan Williams and Seagrams work great)
1.5 ounces of simple syrup
.5 ounces of lemon juice
1 dried (and smoked) whole Bhut Jolokia, split down the middle

Directions:
1. Put the…

Review – Red Hot Motor Oil

red-hot-motor-oil-bottles

Okay, I’ve never been heavily into infused cooking oils. In my humble opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of a flavored oil, but if I use them for cooking, sauteing or frying, I prefer a much “cleaner” taste out of my oils, and instead let other added ingredients take the wheel when it comes to flavor. And if I use oils as a “straight” component – such as being drizzled on top of my dishes as a condiment or flavor enhancer or as an ingredient in a meal – it’s usually sparingly.

Because of that, it’s hard for me to get enthusiastic about a chile oil. So much, that in the past I’ve often turned down offers to review products like that because I don’t know if I’m really the best person to do the job (much like I really don’t dig bloody mary mixes).

It was after I looked at Red Hot Motor Oil’s Kickstarter campaign page when I changed my mind and told myself that I’d give this a shot. It looked slightly beyond your “oil with chile seeds and flakes” that is common to so many Asian dishes or a myriad of other cuisines – both in look and presentation (from a marketing perspective) it piqued my interest big time. So I had Cindy Arlantico, the maker (along with her husband Reggie) of Red Hot Motor Oil, shipped a sample jar to me to test out.

BBQ Fans and Spicy Foods Lovers, Here Are Two Awesome Facebook Communities!

bbq-rebels-fb-cover-photo-2016

Want more great fiery conversation? Join these Facebook foodie groups…

Fire Talkers at https://www.facebook.com/groups/firetalkers/ is for all fanatics of hot sauce, fiery foods and chile peppers o’plenty.

BBQ Friends at https://www.facebook.com/bbqrebelspage for those of you who love smoke, rub, meat, and cooking things the old-fashioned, outdoor, live-fire way! Lots of foodie photos posted, scrumptious recipes, and jam-packed full of great barbecue chat.

And don’t forget to like the official ScottRobertsWeb.com Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/scottrobertsweb for juicy updates, reminders of blog posts, plus a lot of other fun and informative goodies you won’t find anywhere else, including this very blog!

Review – Domino’s Specialty Chicken – Classic Hot Buffalo, and Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple

dominos-specialty-chicken-classic-hot-buffalo-spicy-jalapeno-pineappleIf you’re in the mood for some decent delivery pizza, you can find a much better joint to order from than Domino’s Pizza. Oddly, to battle a poor reputation (which may or may not have been deserved) a few years back, Domino’s had revamped their core pizza recipes but actually came out with an even worse product, despite some aggressive marketing tryin to convince the masses otherwise.

It is Domino’s vast array of sides, that in my opinion set them apart from the other national chains. Although not all of their sides are stellar, they are distinctively guilty pleasure enough to purchase if my boys try to convince me to order from them.

Domino’s has recently introduced their Specialty Chicken, a very…

Review – Three Stooges Hot Sauces

three-stooges-hot-saucesI believe that the “golden age” of hot sauce collectibles has already passed, and probably peaked around 2009.  Does by no means indicates that collecting is over with (witness super collector Vic Clinco and his gargantuan accumulation of sauce bottles) and the number of “fun” themed and novelty hot sauces may actually continue to grow. There may be some of these that are legitimately good tasting and made for daily consumption, but you have to admit it…most of these novelty sauces are for looking at only…

The Firecast Episode #53 – Texas-Sized Edition Featuring Dan Arnold of Sucklebusters BBQ

weekly-firecast-ep-53-texas-sized-edition-dan-arnold-sucklebusters-300x298The Firecast with Scott Roberts: Firecast Podcast Episode #53 – Texas-Sized Edition Featuring Dan Arnold of Sucklebusters BBQ

This time out on The Firecast Podcast, we’re proud to feature an episode as big and as grand as the Lone Star State! Our core focus is on Texas, and for the Firetalkers interview segment, Scott talks to Dan Arnold of Sucklebusters from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, makers of some mighty fine tastin’ BBQ sauces and rubs. For his Ken’s Fiery World piece, chilehead reviewer and blogger Ken Alexander chats with Scott about some of the things that makes Texas food so distinctive. The review of the week is Houston-based company SilverLeaf International and their Ghost Pepper Salsa, and Scott gives a quick tip about smoking big Texas-sized beef briskets.

Debuting this episode is a new segment from industry veteran Mike Greening of Mike & Diane’s Gourmet Kitchen, both the maker of Ring of Fire Hot Sauces and friend of the show. Mike will give some so-awesome-it’s-ridiculous advice on how sauce makers can cut costs and save loads of cash in their operations!

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