What's the hottest thing that you've ever eaten?

[dlevere]

Argus reporters Arron Hendy and Ruari Barratt fell victim to the hottest burger in the country



ENGLAND

Two journalists at The Argus were hospitalized after trying a burger containing a sauce hotter than pepper spray.

Assistant news editor Arron Hendy, and trainee reporter Ruari Barratt were taken by ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital after taking one bite each of an XXX Hot Chilli Burger from Burger Off, in Brunswick Street West, Hove. Mr Hendy agreed to try the burger after the takeaway came in the top ten of burger restaurants in the country – as rated on the Trip Advisor website.

After taking one bite he decided the burger was too spicy to eat anymore and was physically O.K. after drinking lots of milk.

Mr Barratt took a bite and minutes later suffered severe stomach pains which increased. He lost the feeling in his hands, his legs were shaking and his eyes rolled back in his head.

And within two hours Mr Hendy was suffering similar problems, following his colleague to hospital.

Mr Barratt said: “It was hard to walk. I needed to drink milk to neutralize the burning, which was hard because I was hyperventilating so much my hands had seized up.”

Mr Hendy said: “I was in so much pain I was telling people I felt like I was dying.

“It’s embarrassing but it felt that bad.If you’re thinking of trying this burger for a dare, just don’t.”

The Argus has reported on the dangers of the burgers as people have been hospitalized before.

A waiver drawn up by owner Nick Gambardella has to be signed by customers, releasing the staff of Burger Off from any responsibility for its effects.

Mr Gambardella said: “We do try and take a certain level of responsibility. We don’t sell the burger to anyone under 18, and if someone’s been drinking we don’t let them have it.

“I spend about as much time convincing people not to try one as I do selling them. I tell people it will ruin their weekend.” The burger, which costs £3.90, contains a sauce made in India reportedly using about 5,000 kilos of piri piri chilis concentrated into one kilo.

Mr Gambardella, 54, of Queens Park, Brighton, estimates the sauce to measure between seven and nine million on the Scoville scale, the measurement of heat in spicy food.

Pepper spray rates between 500,000 and 5 million on the scale. Tabasco sauce is between 2,500 and 5,000.

Source

[Kyle]

I am a hot food enthusiast with a high tolerance for heat. The only thing I couldn't get down was ghost pepper chocolate ice cream. Not only was it nasty but it felt like my throat was closing up as I ate it.

[bungholio]

If it causes these symptoms and nearly kills people, why is it being served as "food"? What health benefits are there for eating this? Why are people eating this if it causes nothing but pain? It's dumb.

[dlevere]

ONE MAN - ONE JAR = A PAINFUL LESSON

MAN WHO DRANK A BOTTLE OF LOONEY JUICE

[47iscool]

Pizza Hut's hot wings.

[final kaoss]

Potatoes smothered in red pepper thrown into a pot during a crawfish boil, stuffed with Jalepeno's afterwords. Good stuff

[rimsky82]

Probably bdubs' hot wings. I could only get through 12 before I was hurting and sweating.

[MathUser]

Hottest thing I've ate was probably these hot pickles I used to buy. I used to have to drink 2 large cups of water just to eat half a pickle. Nowdays I like spicy food. I put crushed red peppers on my pizza and eat hot chilli maruchen ramen noodles. Those noodles are delicious.

[Pyriel]

I've had Thai food and curries in the D.C. area that were in the half-a-million to a million Scoville range, using the higher-end habaneros or lower-end ghost peppers. I don't really understand people that go much above that. Eating something specifically because it's nerve-spazzing hot just makes no sense to me. You get some sort of high off of it, I guess, but it seems like a chemical form of corporal mortification.

Hell, I usually make three pumpkin pies from scratch for Thanksgiving. One that's just plain, one containing a reasonable amount of diced habaneros blended into the filling, and one that's just loaded with them. It's fun to watch the self-assured looks slide from the faces of unsuspecting friends and family members after they dismiss my warnings about the spiciness of a pumpkin pie. The best part is that it makes for a damn good pie if you can stand the heat.