“There are so many hot sauces out there that are kind of gimmicky, and it’s all about the heat. And those are nothing to me. You gotta get that good balance of flavor. “
This week on the show we join hot sauce aficionado Christopher Burrus making Pique for the first time, and then later we sample the hottest known chile pepper, the Carolina Reaper!
And Josephine McRobbie talks with a scientist at the Wild Sourdough Project at North Carolina State University --about harnessing the power of home bakers and their starters.
Plus a story from Harvest Public Media about backyard chickens--for rent!
Christopher Burrus has a history with hot sauce. We heard about it in his story about making Pique for the first time in 2019. We give that piece a second listen this week, and then Christopher and Kayte dare to taste the hottest pepper in the world.
It's not the first time Christopher has pushed his tastebuds to the limit. As an eight year-old he joined his grandfather's Habanero Club by eating a whole, raw habanero, earning him the Red Badge of Courage. Hear the whole story plus the reactions of two public radio producers to excessive levels of capsaicin.
Thanks to Sharonna Moore (of Lawrence Community Garden) and Susan Welsand (AKA The Chile Woman), for supplying us with the raw materials for our backyard (physically distant) taste test.
Music on this Episode:
The Earth Eats theme music is composed by Erin Tobey and performed by Erin and Matt Tobey.
Additional music on this episode from Universal Production Music.
Credits:
The Earth Eats’ team includes: Eoban Binder, Alexis Carvajal, Alex Chambers, Toby Foster, Luann Johnson, Leo Paes, Daniella Richardson, Samantha Shemenaur, Payton Whaley and Harvest Public Media.
Earth Eats is produced, engineered and edited by Kayte Young. Our executive producer is Eric Bolstridge.
