Lower Prices On Every Item!

Hey Fiery Folks! PyroMan here. Some say that I have too much time on my hands. Others have long said that I've lost my mind. Maybe it's both, but I've really gone and done it now! I have gone through the entire PyroPepper Gourmet catalog and SLASHED PRICES on everything! Dave's Insanity Sauce - $4.45! Can you believe it?

Trinidad Extra Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce - $3.45! Insane?

Mad Dog's Revenge Extract - $8.44! Crazy?

Scorned Woman Hot Sauce - $3.20! What?

357 Mad Dog - $6.88! No Way?!?!?


You get the point. Check out PyroPepper Gourmet Hot Sauces today and see for yourself. Somebody stop me!

Scientists Testing Chemicals In Hot Sauce For Anesthesia Purpose

Washington D.C. (AHN) - American scientists are testing the chemicals in hot sauce for their benefits in relieving the pain of surgery.

Ultra-purified version of capsaicin is directly poured into open wounds during knee replacement and a few other highly painful operations as the volunteers are under anesthesia to see its effect in numbing the pain.

Doctors believe that when we bite a hot pepper, our tongue goes numb and if they follow the same procedure in surgeries it might provide the same effect. When surgically exposed nerves are exposed to a high dose of sauce, it will numb them for weeks, so that patients suffer less pain and require fewer narcotic painkillers as they heal.

Eske Aasvang, a pain specialist in Denmark told the Associated Press, "We wanted to exploit this numbness." Research shows that capsaicin targets key pain-sensing cells in a unique way. Chili peppers have been used to relieve pain since long time and heat-inducing capsaicin creams are available in a drugstore for aching muscles.

In hopes of developing epidurals that wouldn't confine women to bed during childbirth, researchers at Harvard University are mixing capsaicin with other anesthetics. They also hope to use it in developing epidurals for dental injections that don't numb the whole mouth.

In an attempt to see the numbing effects a capsaicin cousin that is 1,000 times more potent, the scientists at the National Institutes of Health are planning to begin testing it in advanced cancer patients.

According to AP reports, capsaicin binds to the receptor of the nerve cells that sense a type of long-term throbbing pain bear a receptor, or gate, called TRPV1. It opens it to enter only those pain fibers and not other nerves responsible for other kinds of pain or other functions such as movement.

These so-called C neurons also sense heat from capsaicin's burn. The numbness is caused when TRPV1 opens, letting extra calcium inside the cells until the nerves become overloaded.

The major experiments which are underway include Anesiva's specially purified capsaicin, called Adlea, Standard lidocaine injections with capsaicin and a capsaicin cousin called resiniferatoxin in advanced cancer patients whose pain no longer is relieved by opioids.

Hot Sauce Diet

Lisa Malak
(CBS News) ATLANTA, GA

Something ailing you?

It might be time to hit the sauce. The *Hot* Sauce, that is. Dr. Spiro Antoniades is a runner, but didn't always have a runner's body. Last year he decided to make himself suffer for eating the wrong things. Before every meal, he downed a shot of Hot Sauce.

Dr. Antoniades is now seventy pounds lighter, and shares his so-called "Hot Sauce Diet" with other doctors. While it has no real science behind it, some think it works by tricking the mind. If you have a dose of Hot Sauce every time you eat junk food, you'll avoid the junk food to avoid the pain.

"It kind of slows me down, shocks me a little bit and it makes me drink some water, and calms down my abnormal appetites."

The burning chemical in Hot Peppers is called Capsaicin. It can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and even fight some cancers. But as for Dr.Antonadies, he thinks he's solved his weight problem. A dose of Hot Sauce, a little pain, and no weight gain.

But Doctors warn, it could be a problem for people with stomach issues.

Buffalo-chicken dip surefire winner for Super Bowl party

By Jan Norris

Palm Beach Post Food Editor

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Once in a while, a dish comes along that has everybody saying, "Wow! Can I get that recipe?"

<> The chicken-wing dip below is just such a dish. It combines all the flavors of traditional Buffalo-chicken wings and the blue cheese dip served alongside. It's a natural winner for a Super Bowl party.

The original dip amount can be made in the oven; double it, however, to make it in a slow cooker.

Here's the dip, with tips at the end.

Buffalo-chicken-wing dip

4 to 5 cups cooked skinless, boneless chicken, cubed or diced

1/2 pound low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 12-ounce bottle Buffalo-wing sauce

2 4-ounce packages reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled — see note

Finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips, Fritos, or celery sticks, for serving

Chop the cooked chicken into pieces small enough to sit on a chip.

In a microwave-safe glass bowl, combine the cream cheese and hot sauce. Heat on 60 percent power for 4 minutes or until cheese is softened and mixture will stir. Remove to the bowl of a food processor or mix in bowl of electric mixer to combine. Add feta or blue cheese and chicken and stir well by hand. Put mixture into ovenproof baking dish. Note: This can be done night before serving and refrigerated to this point.

Before serving, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 325°.

Serve surrounded by chips and celery sticks. Put out bottle of hot sauce for those who prefer a hotter dip.

Food safety note: Keep dip on a warming tray, or over a chafing dish for up to two hours; refrigerate after that.

Note: Substitute the feta with blue cheese, or a mixture of feta and blue, for a tangier dip.

To make in slow-cooker: Double or triple the recipe. Prepare as directed, but pour into slow-cooker pot. Cover, and set on medium heat and heat for 2 hours to cook; reduce heat to warm setting for serving. Keep covered and stir occasionally to keep mixture blended.

Cooks notes: For an extra jolt of heat, add up to 1/2 bottle additional hot sauce. To control the thickness of the sauce as it sits in the slow cooker without adding more fire, use chili sauce instead of adding hot sauce.

Summer Fun...

Now that summer’s here and the weather is nice and hot, many of us are enjoying outdoor activities and cooling off with an ice-cold drink, or perhaps an ice cream. But not Scott Wilson of Sunni Sky’s, the ice cream shop he and his wife have run for the past three years.

The newest flavor to hit the roadside refreshment spot along North Carolina’s Highway 55 in Fuquay-Varina is “Cold Sweat,” a mixture of vanilla ice cream and a habanero pepper sauce. The new flavor is so hot , Wilson warns customers at his shop away from it too.

The first batch of “Cold Sweat” included a blend of Dave’s Insanity Hot Sauce (which comes with a warning to keep it away from your “eyes, pets and children”) and Blair’s Megadeath Hot Sauce (with ingredients said to be 500 times hotter than a Jalapeno Chile), along with a secret ingredient. Chile peppers, habaneros and Thai chiles are then stirred in.

For some consumers, the challenge of surviving the ice cream’s spicy afterburn is the product’s primary draw. One of the first test-tasters, Justin Smith, 22, bolted for bathroom and threw up after his first spoonful. Since then, he’s continued to work on his stamina, hoping to try for the store's record of 14 ounces in one sitting.

An issue too hot to handle

G.D. Gearino, Staff Writer

Governments are often brought low by small events.

An office security guard in 1972 notices a piece of tape on a door, and an American president is eventually driven from office. A British cabinet member visiting a friend's country estate in 1961 spots a young woman named Christine Keeler skinny-dipping in the pool, and his party ends up losing control of Parliament.

These are real-world examples of chaos theory, which holds that a seemingly inconsequential circumstance can avalanche into a cataclysmic event.

With chaos theory in mind, perhaps you can appreciate the ramifications of this recent discovery: hot sauce that isn't marked "Texas Pete" at the General Assembly's cafeteria.

As you surely know, Texas Pete is North Carolina's answer to Tabasco sauce. It was created in Winston-Salem in 1929 and has been a fixture of Tar Heel life ever since. It sits on an uncountable number of restaurant tables, and little packets of Texas Pete are available at the cafeteria in the basement of the legislative building. That's appropriate, of course. If there's one institution that should automatically offer North Carolina products exclusively, it's the General Assembly.

But for the past several weeks, the unthinkable has been on display in the cafeteria: packets with the bland words "hot sauce" on the package, along with the name of an Ohio company.

Let me repeat this for emphasis: "Hot sauce" from Ohio is being served at the legislature.

Oh, packets of Texas Pete are there, too. Most of them, in fact, are Texas Pete. But how did this Northern off-brand end up mingling in the condiment bin with the real deal?

No one's quite sure. Steve Wiseman, the legislature's food service manager, says his supplier might have temporarily been out of Texas Pete and shipped the off-brand as a replacement. He understands how bad that looks. "In North Carolina, you have to have Texas Pete," he says. "I learned that a long time ago."

A spokeswoman for T.W. Garner Food Co., the maker of Texas Pete, agrees that it looks bad -- but says it may not be as bad as it looks. Garner Food ships Texas Pete in bulk to the Ohio company for condiment-bin packaging. The generic stuff is still probably the real thing, according to Veda Mabe (who says her title at Garner Food is "I've Just Been Here Forever").

Is it Texas Pete? Who knows? A pair of calls to the Ohio company were not returned. Cover-up? (And how many damning question marks can I use in one column?)

State government stands -- for now.

Ooops. Make that -- "for now?"

Reeling in business with hot sauces

In her Coconut Grove kitchen, Donna Wilson has combined her love of fishing and her passion for spicy foods to create award-winning hot sauces.

BY BELLA KELLY
Special to The Miami Herald

You could say the perfect storm of Donna Wilson's love of fishing, a taste for spicy foods and a familiarity with Cajun seasonings led to the flaming success of her small business venture, Reel Heat.

She started the commercial venture in the kitchen of her Coconut Grove home only a year ago, but already her prowess with chile peppers, jalapeños and other spicy ingredients has been recognized with top national awards for three new products she created and introduced in the hot sauce market.

Forty-six-year-old Wilson trusts her own taste buds when creating sauces that give an extra zing to chicken, meats, fruit and especially fish.

So far Wilson says Reel Heat is breaking even, and she hopes to turn a profit by next year. At $5.99 to $6.99 a bottle, Reel Heat sauces are pricier than most on the shelf because they fall into the gourmet-style category.

But Wilson's success at recent spicy food competitions indicates she's hit on some winning combinations.

TAKING HOME HONORS

At the 2006 Fiery Food Challenge in Albuquerque, N.M., her Meltdown Marlin Hot Sauce picked up the Golden Chile Award as the first place finisher in the best medium hot sauce category. Her Too Hot Tuna Hot Sauce won second place in the Asian division.

More than 600 hot sauces and related spicy products such as relishes, salsas and mustards vied for honors in 80 different divisions at the Fiery Food Challenge. The annual competition is sponsored by the Food Network and Chile Pepper magazine.

In addition to honors at the Fiery Foods Challenge, Wilson also picked up an award in Fort Worth, Texas. There judges at the 2006 Scovie Award national hot products competition sponsored by Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine selected her Wailing Wahoo Hot Sauce as the best of all Fruit Hot Sauce entries. That concoction is a combination of mango, citrus and chocolate habanero. In addition, Reel Heat's label was named a winner in the logo division.

TIMELY ENDEAVOR

Wilson's entrance into the hot sauce market comes at a time when spicy products are enjoying new popularity.

Dave DeWitt, president of Sunbelt Shows, which publishes Fiery Foods magazine and sponsors the Fiery Food Challenge, says Americans are becoming more sophisticated about spicy foods.

DeWitt, who has written 32 books on spicy foods, says the Internet has played a big role in educating people on ways to enjoy spicy products. The Fiery Food website, for example, had 2 million visitors last year.

''There is a potential,'' DeWitt said, ``of trying to convert the tastes of middle America.''

''The world is getting smaller,'' said Marie Dalby, editor-in-chief of Chile Pepper magazine, ``and people are not just interested in the same old, same old, like salt and pepper. They're learning there are a lot more ingredients and distinctive flavors.''

Wilson came to her new business venture in a roundabout way but the ingredients for a prize-winning hot sauce entrepreneur, who especially likes to zip up fish, were always there.

''I take after my dad, who loved food, especially spicy food,'' Wilson said. Dad was the late George Wilson, longtime CEO of Holsum Bakers.

Donna Wilson also picked up her father's interest in deep-sea fishing during outings on his 48-foot Hatteras when she was a teenager.

In 1984, when she married and moved to Louisiana, where Cajun seasonings are king, her love of spicy foods grew.

But making and marketing her own brand of hot stuff didn't cross her mind until several years later.

In the interlude, Wilson divorced and moved to Atlanta where she owned a quarter horse farm. But an accident -- a kick by one of the horses that shattered her leg so badly it almost had to be amputated -- contributed to her decision to come home to Miami.

''I kept riding for a year,'' Wilson recalled, 'but my body said, `Stop,' and I came back to Miami.''

Once here, marine interests captivated her anew and she invented and patented a telescopic outrigger that keeps fishing lines from getting entangled during sport fishing. The outrigger is sold nationwide by a boat supplier and has become standard equipment on fishing boats.

In 2000, she sold the patent for the outrigger to Taco Metals, a marine supplier. Now she is a manufacturer's representative for Ocean Marketing. When not making her hot sauces, she travels throughout Florida conducting seminars and training sessions to market marine products.

While still living in the Atlanta area, she began experimenting with hot sauces. But the project began in earnest when she moved back to Miami. She invested $15,000 of her own money and tested and re-tested recipes.

To get her products in the marketplace, she decided to work with a co-packer, Prima Foods, which has a kitchen approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

REPEATED TESTING

''I sent them samples and they did a chemical analysis of the contents,'' Wilson said. ``They reproduce the sauce and add preservatives. Then it is sent back and forth between us until I think it tastes like my recipe. When something is produced in large quantities, it can change the taste.''

The next steps were designing labels and picking a name for her enterprise.

''I decided on Reel Heat because it combines my interest in sports fishing and the hot sauces,'' Wilson said.

For now she's distributing the sauces herself. Her associations in the marine industry due to her outrigger invention have proved helpful. Wilson often also promotes her sauces at nautical shows.

Reel Heat sauces aren't currently available in local groceries, but Wilson has sold her products at tackle shops, pro shops and stores selling marine supplies. Another local customer is the Tijuana Flats restaurant in Pompano Beach.

Wilson is pleased with the current spicy trends in food circles and hopes her hot sauce business grows.

''But in the meantime,'' she said, ``I'm not quitting my day job.''

The red-hot power of chillies can kill cancer

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

The substance in chillies that causes the tongue to burn also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to research that could pave the way for new treatments.

The pepper component capsaicin makes the cells undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis, says a study published in the journal Cancer Research.

Tests found that it induced approximately 80 per cent of cancer cells growing in mice to follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis.

Prostate cancer tumours treated with capsaicin were about one-fifth the size of tumours in non-treated mice, said a team from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Every year, 10,000 men die and more than 30,000 are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK.

"Capsaicin had a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate cancer cells in culture," said Dr Sören Lehmann, team member.

He estimated that the dose of pepper extract fed to the mice was equivalent to giving 400 milligrams of capsaicin three times a week to a 200-pound man, roughly equivalent to between three and eight fresh habañera peppers.

Britain's Prostate Cancer Charity welcomed the study, but advised men not to eat more hot chillis.

Head of Policy and Research, Chris Hiley, said: "Eventually, it may be possible to extract the capsaicin and make it available as a drug treatment. In the meantime we caution men with prostate cancer in the UK against upping their weekly intake of the hottest known chillies. High intake of hot chillies has been linked with stomach cancers in the populations of India and Mexico."

© Telegraph Group Limited 2006

Hot sauce enchances health and flavour

ST. JOHN'S, NFLD. (CUP) - Spicy food is a lot like sex - it makes you sweaty, it's good for you, but if you're not careful it can lead to a painful burning later. Ignore the tough-guy mystique around buffalo wings and five-alarm chili: The active chemical that burns your throat can help lower cholesterol, decrease your blood pressure and make breathing easier.
Cyril Butler is a big supporter of healthy hot sauce in Newfoundland. He's the owner/operator of The Spice Rack, a distributor specializing in salsas, dry spices, sauces and snack foods with an extra kick.
"Not all of them are spicy, either," he says. "I have different cooking spices and stuff like that, that aren't hot."
But it's really the spicy ones with special health benefits. Capsaicin, the compound in hot peppers that produces the heat, can boost metabolism, which helps burn fat faster. The spice raises your heart rate, so that circulation improves.
It also helps with pain relief, especially headaches - even excruciating migraine and cluster headaches.
"[It] can clear nasal and sinus congestion, which I experience myself quite frequently," says Butler. "It's also being researched for uses in cancer treatment."
People often fret about the effect so much spicy food will have on their stomach, possibly causing ulcers and heartburn. But Butler says there's nothing to worry about.
"One misconception about hot foods is that it causes stomach problems," he says. "Usually . . . a lot of the spicy foods that we have here are pasta [with] tomato sauces and some [foods] are high in grease content and fat content, which can cause heartburn itself."
Butler says capsaicin is actually good for digestion and ulcer-prevention. Most stomach ulcers are caused by H. Pylori, bacteria that the hot compound kills.

Written by Devon Wells, Canadian University Press

Chinese chili pepper invasion making some Mexicans hot

By Chris Hawley, The Arizona Republic

MEXICO CITY — It is one of Mexico's most emblematic foods, the spicy ingredient in everything from salsa to enchiladas. But in Mexico, the red-hot chili pepper is under attack from abroad.

China and other countries have flooded Mexico with dried peppers for three years. Chinese chilis now account for one-third of all such peppers consumed in Mexico, the National Council of Chili Producers says.

"The Chinese are winning at everything. Now they're beating us at chili peppers, too," said Miguel Angel Romo, a seller of dried peppers at Mexico City's Central de Abastos market.

For Mexico, which is particularly proud of all things Mexican, from its pyramids to petroleum, it's the latest humiliation at the hands of China. The Chinese have lured away factories and undercut local manufacturers by flooding Mexico with cheap shoes and other goods. --SNIP-- Read the entire story here

Cholula 3-Bean Chili Recipe

Makes 6 to 8 servings

* 1½ pounds lean ground beef or ground uncooked chicken or turkey (see note)
* 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, undrained
* 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
* ½ square (ounce) unsweetened chocolate
* 1 cup bottled Cholula Hot Sauce
* ½ cup chopped peeled onion
* 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 2½ teaspoons chili powder or to taste
* 2 teaspoons minced peeled garlic or to taste
* 1½ to 3 teaspoons finely snipped fresh or ½ to 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1½ to 3 teaspoons finely snipped fresh or ½ to 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
* 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste (optional)
* ½ to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
* 4 to 5 drops hot pepper sauce or to taste (see note)
* 1 (15 to 16-ounce) can each dark or light red kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans, drained
* Sour cream or reduced-fat sour cream or unflavored yogurt for garnish (optional)
* Chopped green onion (include some green tops) for garnish
* Shredded Mexican-style 4-cheese blend (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero cheeses) or sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese for garnish
* Chopped green chile peppers for garnish
* Crisp taco shells (optional)

In a medium heavy skillet, brown meat over moderate heat; drain off excess fat. Combine and next 16 ingredients together in a 4-quart heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over moderate heat; reduce temperature and simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours, or until spices and sauce are thoroughly blended, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn chili. Add beans and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until beans are heated through. Serve in bowls and garnish each portion as desired. Or, spoon chili into taco shells and top with garnishes as desired.

Note: May use meat loaf mixture (combination of ground beef, ground veal, and ground pork), if desired.

Note: 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or canned green chile peppers or to taste may be added to the chili in place of the hot sauce, if desired.

Home Town Hot Sauce

Here's a story about some folks from PyroMan's home town:

Columbia Couple Heats Up Hot Sauce Industry

(Columbia, SC) - In a small garden on Trenholm Road, you'll find bright reds and yellows and a few dark greens - some pretty plants with a very potent pop.

"They are dangerous hot," says Mark Riffle with a grin.

Which, by the way, is how he and his wife Julie like it. From Mark's pepper shirt to Julie's kitchen decor, they say they always liked a little spice, but an unusual gift is what really warmed them up.

"Well, it really started when a friend of mine gave me a bunch of pepper plants," Mark remembers, "We had about 60 plants."

Without hesitating, Mark and Julie started planting, putting pepper plants pretty much everywhere and - without knowing it - watching a plan literally start to grow.

"We just started combining different ingredients and coming up with something that really tasted good," explains Mark.

Adds Julie, "Anything that our neighbors had that was ripening, we would make hot sauce out of."

Eventually, they found the right blend, not once, not twice, but three times with flavors they named Daily Red, Molten Golden and Larynx Lava - unique tastes that caught on like fire among their friends.

"We just got to the point where everybody said, 'This stuff is so tasty, you really ought to try and sell it,'" Mark says.

And so began Palmetto Pepper Potions, the Riffle's very own hot sauce company. At just one year old, it's already won three industry awards, including a coveted Scovie - the Academy Award of hot sauce awards.

"Every once and awhile, we'll be somewhere and someone will be like, 'Where do I know you from? Aren't you the hot sauce guy?'" says Mark with a grin.

Actually, they're a couple of scorching specialists on a pursuit of pepper perfection.

George Hincapie Day

Hey! PyroMan and PyroBoy are HUGE cycling fans. Having watched every stage of Le Tour de France live for the last 3 years, we have come to appreciate the immense talents of the only man to ride on all 7 of Lance's Tour winning teams, George Hincapie. Big George happens to live in Greenville, SC in the off season, which is only 45 minutes from the PyroLair.

On friday, September 9, 2005, Greenville staged "George Hincapie Day" on Main St. there. They had a parade, and George rode the last block on his Trek Madone SSL while scores of local cyclists held up their front wheels to form a tunnel for George to ride through. It was really cool.

Well, as you can see from this picture on the right, George was not the only Discovery Team member to show up. The man himself made a surprise appearance, much to the delight of the hundreds of fans in attendance! Lance was extremely defferential to the fact that this was about George, and did not seek to take away from it. You can read more about the event Here and there's a link to many more pictures.

Here's a picture of a proud PyroBoy (who also happens to be named George) after just having Big George sign his Le Tour cycling cap. All in all it was a great experience for the lad. PyroBoy happens to have Type 1 Diabetes, since age 4, and enjoys the benefits of cycling for helping to keep his blood sugar stabilized. This was a great motivation for him to continue his quest for cycling, and Diabetes dominance! By the way, PyroBoy can pop a toothpick of ANY extract hot sauce without flinching! Don't mess with PyroBoy...

PyroMan's Top 5

Ok, here we go. I'll bet I get asked 10 times a week "Dude, what are your favorite hot sauces?" Here are my all-time Top 5 favorites, in no particular order:

Ring Of Fire Chipotle Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce

African Rhino Peri-Peri XHot Hot Sauce

Pickapeppa Red Hot Sauce

Melinda's XXXX Habanero Hot Sauce

Pain Is Good batch #37 Hot Sauce


There they are, in all of their fiery glory! What are your favorites?

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