BLUNHAM, BERKSHIRE - You’ve had the Carolina Reaper, you’ve had HP 56 Death Strain, now it’s the UK’s time to shine when it comes to the world’s hottest peppers. Enter—the Komodo Dragon.
The UK’s hottest ever commercially grown chilli pepper has gone on sale for the first time ever this week, and it already has British mouths sweltering.
The Komodo Dragon peaks at 1.4 million on the Scoville scale, the official measure of a pepper’s “hotness.” For a little comparison, the jalapeño pepper barely hits 3,500 Scovilles, while the inhumanely hot HP 56 Death Strain goes as high as 3 million Scoville units.
Eleanor Mansell a chili pepper buyer for Tesco, told the Guardian, “In recent years we’ve had the fearsome Dorset Naga, the searing Bhut Jolokia and the mouth-numbing Trinidad Scorpion. But they all pale in comparison with the UK’s latest commercially grown chilli pepper—the mighty Komodo Dragon—which puts the others in the shade.”
According to the Guardian, the Komodo Dragon is unique in the fact that its heat is delayed. It may even trick some eaters into thinking the pepper is not hot at all.
“At first you can taste a wonderful hot fruitiness, but then after about 10 seconds the full might of this little demon hits you and your whole mouth is aglow,” Mansell continued. “This is definitely a chili pepper for connoisseurs and for those who are experienced in eating super-hot food.”
Salvatore Genovese, one of the UK’s largest producer of chilies, is the producer of the Komodo Dragon, and grows them on his a seven-acre farm in Blunham, Bedfordshire. British shoppers will be able to find them on the shelves in 500 Tesco branches until November.
Genovese, who began growing chilli peppers 15 years ago, says the popularity of chili peppers has grown so much that he harvests 15 tons of the product each week to satisfy just the UK’s demand.
“Chili peppers have really grown in popularity over the last 10 years and feature strongly in a lot of the UK’s favourite dishes – from curries, Thai and Chinese food, to Mexican cuisine, as well as pizzas,” he said. “But it’s the really hot ones that gain the most interest and so each year I try and grow one hotter than the last. I have chili heads, as they’re known, contacting me from all over the world asking for samples.”
So get the milk on standby, and prepare your mouth for some fire. The Komodo Dragon is here.
