Scorpion sting me,
Ah feeling ah go dead,
Darling if you love me,
Come lie down in me bed.
– Sundar Popo (A 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 overproof rum with a fearsome reputation”. It is what Americans would call “moonshine” but much hotter.
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 on 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 – this 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: “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.
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 about which peppers are actually the hottest.
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.
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 Fire Breathing 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.
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 overproof 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.
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 explicitly 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.
