FAQS
Chile Peppers & SuperHot Chile Peppers
Q: What does "oven dried" mean?
A: Oven dried products are fresh harvested chilies, then immediately dried in sterile food grade commercial ovens, and not in non-commercial consumer grade ovens.
Q: What is the difference between oven dried and smoked chiles?
A: Our oven dried chiles are dried in sterile food grade commercial ovens giving them a clean, chile flavor. Smoked chiles have a clean, smoky flavor that adds additional flavor to your food. Both oven dried and smoked chiles retain all the heat.
Q: What do the other on-line retailers sell? Are they smoked?
A: All they sell is "smoked". Though many do not tell you right up front.
Q: What do you mean by " that your products are processed in a sanitary environment"?
A: Peppers are cleaned, washed, and handled at a supervised facility, which follow measures to ensure no cross-contamination, and use only clean water. NOT all peppers are handled in this manner, hence the lower grade, and associated cost.
Q: Do your pods have seeds? Will the seeds grow?
A: The pods have seeds. During heat sterilization, this process renders all seeds as non-viable.
Q: Do you sell fresh chiles?
A: Sorry, but no, we do not.
Q: What is ethylene oxide (ETO)?
A: Many countries have banned the use of ETO as a sterilant or pesticide in conjunction with food exposure. Prior to such bans, the food industry had a very poor record of proper exposure to achieve complete sterilization or pest kill, and of proper management of aeration and toxic and carcinogenic residuals.
Q: Is ethylene oxide harmful?
A: According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) In addition to eye pain and sore throat, exposure to ETO can cause difficult breathing and blurred vision. Exposure can also cause dizziness, nausea, headache, convulsions, blisters and can result in vomiting and coughing. Both human and animal studies show that ETO is a carcinogen that may cause leukemia and other cancers. ETO is also linked to spontaneous abortion, genetic damage, nerve damage, peripheral paralysis, muscle weakness, as well as impaired thinking and memory.
Q: Can I place an order on the phone?
A: We prefer that all orders placed are done so on our secure website to help safeguard your personal information.
Q: What is the Scoville Scale?
A: The Scoville scale is used to measure the heat of chile peppers. The number of Scoville Heat Units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin in the chile pepper. The higher the number, the hotter the pepper. Anything over 1 million SHU is considered a "superhot" chile pepper. Check out our Scoville Scale