Culinary peacocking makes up at least half of any chile pepper event. Not just in the traditional clothing sense, though. We men love to show our food machismo by eating food hot enough to melt your ex’s heart. Now, a study from the University of Grenoble may have confirmed what most of us already knew: the guys who eat the hottest peppers have the highest testosterone levels.
SaucePack: The Gift of Monthly Hot Sauce
With winter holidays bearing down on us, the mad scramble to shop for all the chileheads in your life is just over the horizon. SaucePack.co may have the hookup you need.
Burn! Tested: Pepper Burn Anodyne
Any chef who’s worked with hot peppers will tell to make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling the things. Capsaicin has this very endearing habit of being hard to was away with conventional soap and water, though. Just ask anyone who’s ever rubbed their eyes or used the restroom after cutting up a bunch of jalapenos, then given their hands a quick was under the faucet. Twenty minutes later, the swearing stops as the burning wears off. This is why Marlin Belsinger came up with Chromtec’s Pepper Burn Anodyne. To test it out, I shot myself in the face with pepper spray and used the anodyne to alleviate one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever had.
Hot Wheels: Quick! To the Chilemobile!
Instead of going the lazy route (put it on Facebook with a funny caption, clap self on back, grab a soda–you know, my usual), I thought, “If the Germans have crazy chile cars roaming the streets, there have to be some Stateside.” A little hunting later, I confirmed that theory. This gallery is pretty small right now, but I’m hoping you folks will send in your own shots of other chilemobiles you’ve encountered on your own so we can expand it.
Hunting Chicken of the Woods in Alaska
Late August is the time of year when the day-glo orange-and-yellow fungus called Chicken of the Woods crops up on the dead and dying trees in the deep woods. I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days wandering the forest around Juneau, Alaska, where I went hunting for some of this edible mushroom.
Masker’s Wish List Part 2
A few more last minute items to round out your holiday shopping.
