# How dangerous is eating a Habanero Pepper straight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787 "2004-04-01T20:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/21 "2004-04-02T06:41:27Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > You know those little [orange](http://www.marstonmoor.co.nz/gfx/habanero.jpg) peppers that are supposed to be really, really, hot! Just how dangerous are they to the human stomach and/or gastrointestinal track? I once saw a man in Phoneix eat one. He lasted nearly a minute before running from the pub we were in. No idea what happened thereafter. But I consider myself to be one who can handle quite a bit of heat from picante foods. But the Habanero measures 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Units which is the unit of measure for hot peppers. The units measure the amount of capsaicin (the chemical that provides the heat) in a pepper. So anyone ever eaten a habanero? What happened? I’ve done it, basically on a dare (a friend of mine and I go way back with hot foods). I’ve grown up around spicy foods all my life and have a higher tolerance than most people I’ve eaten with, to the point that if I make a gumbo to be what I consider hot, it’s basically inedible to most people. I swig tabasco to win bar bets and use Blair’s 3AM Reserve like it’s going out of style. When I ate the whole, raw habanero, I basically chomped it once (not fair if no maceration takes place) and swallowed. My mouth was immediately lit on fire, which bread and milk did _nothing_ for. I started gagging a bit, but kept things down until the pepper hit my stomach (I figure; it was a few minutes later), at which point I immediately started heaving and brought up the pepper (luckily I hadn’t been eating anything else for a while). I continued heaving for about half an hour and my belly didn’t feel right for the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/22 "2004-04-02T06:48:20Z")
> [@SSgtBaloo](#): > > My nephew loves habañero-stuffed olives. The ones he buys are about the size of small eggs, from his description of them. He says he can tolerate up to three at one sitting. More than that and Mt. Saint Helens flies inverted the following morning. :eek: I’d be willing to bet those are (a) pickled or brined, (b) not the _whole_ pepper, but only the outside. The whole pepper includes the seeds and stem, which make the whole thing worse. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/23 "2004-04-02T07:33:52Z")
Oddly enough, I was channel-surfing last night and came across a VH1 “inside look” into Fear Factor (a show I never watch, and was reminded why several times - my stomach is still churning!). One stunt they showed had a penalty of eating a habanero, and someone who worked on the show commented that they were told that this was one of the most risky eating stunts they’ve ever done. Yes, eating a pepper is physically risky compared to cow innards and such. Heck, I thought you were thinking of this when I saw this thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/24 "2004-04-02T08:47:56Z")
> [@Baron](#): > > I once decided to buy some and grill them up for pickling later. Being foolish, I decided to eat one straight off the grill. About 10-15 minutes of agony and swilling water ensued. > > Slightly off-topic, but I saw a bottle of “sauce” in a gourmet store that claimed to be a pure capsaicin extract with a potency of 7 MILLION Scoville. I found its website: > > [Firegirl.com](http://www.firegirl.com/1331-02.html) Sounds like you should have read Cecil’s column: [Why water won’t help after eating spicy hot food](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_346.html) ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/25 "2004-04-02T08:49:05Z")
Forgot the 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/26 "2004-04-02T14:19:09Z")
I once took a bite of an habañero; everything that can be said about the experience has pretty much already been said, so I won’t repeat it. Every single time I’ve cooked with habañeros, I’ve forgotten to wear gloves, and after I remeber that I should have done so, I forget that I shouldn’t touch my eyes. I’ve also found that no amount of scrubbing will remove the residue of habañero from my hands; eight hours later I can still touch my eye and induce agony. The stuff just has to wear off. ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/27 "2004-04-02T14:39:29Z")
I use habs all the time in my cooking. You get used to them after a while - it’s slightly masochistic, but the endorphins that get released make it a good pain - I pour some home-made habenero hot sauce (diced habs, garlic, some spices, tomato sauce and a little vinegar) on my pork barbeque sandwiches, and even though I’m sniffling and I’m sweating out of every pore from my nose on up, I enjoy every minute of it. And yes the next day can be a little dicey, especially if the evacuation is…umm…well…mushy. However, you don’t know true soul-searing, gut-wrenching, “Lord, please kill me now” pain until you’ve been handling lots of habeneros, then absent-mindedly scratch your balls… :eek: :eek: :eek: To this day, especially when I do something spectacularly stupid (which seems to be happening with alarming frequency lately 🙂 ), my wife calls me "critter the Red-Scrot Reindeer. critter42 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/28 "2004-04-02T16:37:09Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Let us **NEVER** forget this thread: > > [I have serious Wolf-ass](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67745). > > In it we find information about ingesting lots of hot peppers, and my particular medical practice for treating said side-effects. > > I have eaten an entire habanero pepper before. In about 2 minutes. It was picked. It was very hot. The exit symptoms were not so much the problem as the horrible reflux. Antacids will **not** help, because it’s the capsaicin bubbling back into the esophagus and hitting the tender tissue there that causes such pain. Fortunately I had the fixins for a “GI cocktail” (that’s GI as in gastro-intestinal) with lots of lidocaine. OMG **QtM** , viscous lidocane is a gift from God (especially if you suffer from debilitating sore throat infections)! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/29 "2004-04-02T17:15:27Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > But the Habanero measures 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Units which is the unit of measure for hot peppers. The units measure the amount of capsaicin (the chemical that provides the heat) in a pepper. Do Scoville units really measure the amount of capsaicin? My understanding is that the units measure relative perception of hotness by trial-and-error – in other words making some poor saps eat the hot stuff and then seeing how many squirts of sugar water it takes to calm them down. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/30 "2004-04-02T17:34:57Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Do Scoville units really measure the amount of capsaicin? My understanding is that the units measure relative perception of hotness by trial-and-error – in other words making some poor saps eat the hot stuff and then seeing how many squirts of sugar water it takes to calm them down. That’s how it was originally measured, but that’s been replaced with scientific methods. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/31 "2004-04-02T17:53:42Z")
Dad grew some habaneros in his garden one year. They were so hot that one of them could make a whole pot of food indedible and I even like hot stuff. Interestingly, all the other peppers in the garden were also hot, perhaps through the magic of cross-pollination? The Hungarian wax peppers were actually hot, as opposed to their usual mere nippiness and even the bell peppers had bite. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/32 "2004-04-02T18:45:15Z")
Well, I ate one and have lived long enough to swear never to do so again. My dad got some from a friend who grew them in his garden, and offered me one at dinner…I wrapped it in bacon (mmm…bacon…) which did nothing to ease the pain. Two bites later, mouth ablaze, sweating like I’d run a mile and fluid leaking from both eyes ans nostrils. Ouchie. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/33 "2004-04-02T20:04:04Z")
I had a tough go of it when I took a mere bite. Profuse sweating, hiccups, runny nose, the feeling that my tongue was being chemically disintegrated. Wouldn`t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/34 "2004-04-02T20:07:19Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > That’s how it was originally measured, but that’s been replaced with scientific methods. I don’t think you mean “scientific” there. If the original Scoville tests were done properly, then they could also be categorised as scientific, right? Maybe you mean “more precise methods” or “chemical analysis methods” or something. Anyway, I’d be interested in seeing the differences between the old and new Scoville scales? Are there any such comparisons? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/35 "2004-04-02T21:04:59Z")
I consumed, and kept down, a [Habanero Hamburger](http://www.habanero-hamburger.com/). I voluntarily made it more difficult by not drinking while eating it. I involuntarily made it more difficult by sitting across the table from someone else who finished his, and then proceeded to throw up on the table. I no longer feel any need to prove my manliness by eating spicy food. (But I don’t actually know how the Habanero sauce on the burger would compare to real Habaneros…) ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/36 "2004-04-02T21:30:32Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I don’t think you mean “scientific” there. If the original Scoville tests were done properly, then they could also be categorised as scientific, right? Maybe you mean “more precise methods” or “chemical analysis methods” or something. > > Anyway, I’d be interested in seeing the differences between the old and new Scoville scales? Are there any such comparisons? [This](http://www.chemsoc.org/exemplarchem/entries/mbellringer/scoville.htm) might help. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/37 "2004-04-02T22:37:00Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The Hungarian wax peppers were actually hot, as opposed to their usual mere nippiness and even the bell peppers had bite. Hungarian wax peppers can be QUITE spicy, but there’s a few varieties of peppers here in the States I’ve seen sold as Hungarian wax peppers. As far as I know, they should refer to a varietal that’s known as _bogyiszloi paprika_ in Hungarian which is a pale yellow pepper, somewhat resembling a banana pepper, but paler in color and a bit fatter. Their spiciness level can vary widely within even the same batch. I’d buy a dozen from the market, and one would be hardly spicier than a bell pepper, and another would be hotter than a jalapeno. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/38 "2004-04-02T22:43:03Z")
My favorite local eatery has a nice habanero sauce (basically just a smashed up habanero pepper witha few drop of olive oil) they will bring out if you ask, but you’ve got to very careful with how you apply it. It is liquid fire, and a few times, after a beer or two, I have got a bit too brave with this stuff with predicatble results. It’s interesting to note that not one female has posted confessing to this foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/39 "2004-04-02T23:18:56Z")
How hot ARE jalapenos, anyways? I once ate a pierogie not realizing it had a jalapeno in it. It wasn’t hot at all-just this disgusting, bitter/sour aftertaste. It was incredibly nasty tasting, but not at all painful. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787/40 "2004-04-02T23:21:02Z")
Female weighing in. My experience was picking up some peppers to make quesadillas. I think they were mislabeled at the supermarket. As I was cutting them up, somehow I could just tell they were really hot. So I cut them as small as possible. Maybe 1/2 the size of a grain of rice? Then I sprinkled them sparingly on the quesadillas. They still rendered the quesadillas basically inedible. Mr. Spry and I are both fans of hot foods, but these (especially raw) crossed a line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-eating-a-habanero-pepper-straight/237787.md?page=3)