The summer could end with a real scorcher this weekend, when the Pampisford Road Allotments stage a chilli eating challenge at their annual open day.
Seven levels of heat: can anyone survive the Pampisford Road Allotments’ challenge this Sunday?
The allotment society is holding the event this Sunday, August 31, as a bit of fun, and to celebrate the vast diversity of crops that can be grown on the allotments.
“We have a site with over 180 plots and many diverse cultures and styles of gardening are represented here,” said Tana Akson, the chair of the allotment society’s committee.
“It means that walking around the plots you can catch glimpses of okra, callaloo, sweet potatoes and chow chow – which also goes by the names chayote, choko in Australia and New Zealand, chocho in Jamaica, and maerakkai in Tamil Nadu – being grown alongside carrots, potatoes and onions.
“Last year we involved plot holders across the site in growing over 70 varieties of tomatoes for the open day and the display was very popular, so we decided to do that again this year and grow 30 chilli varieties alongside them.
“It was then the obvious thing to add tasting and, before we knew it, we were holding a competition!”
Phew what a scorcher: the Carolina Reaper
In an official competition there are 10 rounds of eating increasingly hot chillies down to the stalk. Heat in chillies is measured by the concentration of capsaicin, the chemical compound which causes the burning sensation and is represented by Scoville Heat Units, or SHU.
Sweet peppers are 500 SHU or less, and the world’s hottest chilli, Pepper X, is over 2.6million SHU.
“Frankly, that’s inedible!” says Akson.
“We’ll have seven levels of challenge ranging from the Hungarian hot wax at 2,000 SHU to the Carolina Reaper at 1.6million.
“I am expecting that we will have drop-outs around the Ring of Fire at the 70,000 to 80,000 SHU level.
“Our Bangladeshi gardeners regularly grow the Naga chilli, which is similar to the Bhut Jolokia, our level six chilli, so I am hoping we will have survivors at level seven.
“And although competitions usually draw a large number of men, women usually do very well – so come and have a go if you think you are hot enough!”
The open day this Sunday is from 12 noon and 4pm. The chilli competition begins at 2pm.
Places are strictly limited, so please contact the committee at pras@hotmail.co.uk to reserve your place. £3 competition entry fee.
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