The heat was turned up at Garden Organic’s annual Chilli Day event this year as visitors got the opportunity to sample world’s hottest chilli, the Red Trinidad Scorpion, at the Ryton Gardens site.
Visitors who flocked through the doors proved up to the challenge as they experienced the unique stinging bite of the Red Trinidad Scorpion chilli at the Chilli Day event on Saturday 17 August. Small slither samples of the Red Trinidad Scorpion impaled onto tooth picks were available for tasting, with the Ryton Gardens staff team on hand to oversee the intensive logistical operation required for the world’s hottest chilli.
So hot to the touch, the Red Trinidad Scorpion chilli can only be handled with special protective gloves and goggles. With the same intensity as police issue pepper spray, it has been shown to burn through latex gloves in test labs and has a rating of over 2 million units on the Scoville Scale – a ratings system used to measure the pungency or spicy heat of chilli peppers.
But this did not stop an array of visitors heading to sampling tables to take on the fiery Red Trinidad Scorpion, along with various other samples from 38 different varieties available to taste and buy on the day. Around 400 chilli plants were available for sale including the popular Chocolate Habanero, Cherry Bomb, Scotch Bonnet and Jalapeno chilli varieties.
Hannah Rogers, Garden Organic Marketing Manager, said, “Our Chilli Day event has always been a hot event but this year it really did go off the scale, as we turned up the heat with the world’s hottest chilli.”
“We had a great response to the day’s activities with everyone seeming to really enjoy the event, particularly taking on the challenge of sampling the Red Trinidad Scorpion. It proved to a sizzling star attraction among a day of spicy delights.”
Bringing together chilli growers, gardeners and enthusiasts the Ryton Gardens Chilli Day event, now into its third year, is perfect for anyone with a passion for growing, eating, or simply admiring the small yet fiery chilli.
On the day stalls filled with fresh chillies, chilli plants, chilli seeds and sauces were available for people to browse, sample and buy. Visitors also had the chance to enjoy an Indian cooking demonstration and have a go at creating their own organic pizza.
A tour of the exotic gardens and talks about chillies and Garden Organic’s Sowing New Seeds project featured as part of the day’s programme. Volunteer Master Composters were also on hand for compost troubleshooting and Master Gardeners helped people to sow their own spicy salads on the day.