Infinity pepper is a hybrid chili that falls in the category of the superhot chili peppers. With over one million SHUs, its slow-burning and lasting extreme heat and fruity undertones make it excellent for spicing scorching sauces, curries, and salsas.
What Are Infinity Chili Peppers?
Infinity chili peppers are among the unique chiles that were discovered by chance. As the name suggests, the peppers have a slow-burning heat that lasts almost forever – to infinity!
Also known as 7 pot infinity peppers, the chiles closely resembleother 7 pot pepper types.
Like most chiles from the capsicum chinense species, infinity has a unique flavor that soothes your taste buds before ushering in its scorching heat.
Origin
These painfully hot peppers are a creation of Nicholas Woods, a chili breeder the owner of Fire Foods Company in Grantham, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Nick’s deep love for hot sauces drove him to grow his hot peppers.
After five years of breeding different chiles in his greenhouse, Nick discovered the super-hot infinity peppers.
It remains unclear which peppers created infinity peppers, but most experts suspect the involvement of the Butch T scorpion pepper. The chile’s heat is exceptionally high, such that Nick described eating it raw as ‘agonizing.’
Shape
Infinity chili pepper is bulbous and habanero-like in shape. The pod resembles a tiny golf ball with a pointy, scorpion-like tail.
Size
Infinity chiles are small and compact. The pepper pods are often 1-2 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter. A mature infinity pepper plant may grow 40 inches tall with a sprawling 60-inch bush.
Taste
Infinity chile is aromatic. It has an intensely sweet, fruity, floral and tangy taste with mild bitter citrusy undertones.
Texture
Like other superhots, these peppers have crinkly, wrinkled skin. They look and feel rough as if warning you about the heat lying underneath their skin.
Color
Infinity chiles have a simple color pattern. They are green when young before turning into a stunning, vibrant red color on ripening.
How Hot Are Infinity Peppers?
Infinity peppers range from 1,067,286 to 1,250,000 SHUs on the Scoville scale. Their heat level lies between ghost pepper (bhut jolokia) (855,000-1,041,427 Scoville heat units ) and Trinidad Moruga scorpions (1,200,000-2,000,000shu).
Compared to humble jalapenos, infinity chiles are 133-500 times hotter. The habanero pepper is scorching to many people, but is actually 5-6 times milder than the infinity pepper. Take caution when handling this hot pepper!
Are Infinity Chili Peppers The Hottest In The World?
Not currently. In February 2011, it held the Guinness world record’s hottest pepper title for two consecutive weeks. However, naga vipers dethroned it in March of the same year.
Other world’s hottest chili pepper title holders, including Trinidad Moruga scorpion, later emerged as the race to create extra-hot peppers gained momentum. The current hottest pepper in the world is Carolina reaper, with 2.2 million SHUs.
How To Use Infinity Chili Peppers
Due to their scorching heat, it’s not advisable to consume raw infinity chili peppers. The rule of thumb when using any superhot pepper is, ‘less is more.’ A small amount is enough for your dishes. Some of the best ways to use these super hots include:
- Superhot sauces – Use infinity peppers for making super-extreme hot sauces.
- Hot curry powder – Dried, ground infinity chiles mixed with cinnamon, cardamon, and other warm spices make a flavorful curry powder for seasoning your dishes.
- Scorching curries and soups – Use infinity pepper powder instead of Trinidad Moruga to give this Inferno soup a blast of heat.
- Guacamoles – Use infinity peppers instead of cayenne chiles to make this super-spicy creamy guacamole. But be careful, a little goes a LONG way.
- Spicy salsas – Use infinity peppers in cooked salsas, like picante sauce.
- Hot and sweet meaty dishes – Add chile infinity to your pork, bacon, seafood, and beef marinade for an intense spicy flavor.
- Pickling- Infinity peppers also make excellent pickles if you can handle the heat. Find a recipe that uses sugar to balance the pepper heat and tang from the vinegar.
Tips:
- Use kitchen gloves and protective eyewear when handling infinity peppers.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching the chiles to avoid skin irritation and burning.
Where To Buy Infinity Peppers
Since infinity peppers are rare, you may not find them in local supermarkets and grocery stores. It’s best to buy quality, GMO-free heirloom seeds online from Amazon and grow your chiles.
Substitutes For Infinity Peppers
Without infinity peppers, bhut jolokia or naga viper chiles provide similar heat levels and flavors.
Trinidad Moruga scorpion (1,200,000-2,000,000 SHUs) is another slightly hotter, excellent substitute for infinity chiles.
If you love infinity’s fruity, floral taste but want more manageable spiciness, habanero peppers (100,000-350,000 SHUs) fit the flavor profile perfectly.
Can You Grow Infinity Chili Peppers?
Like other capsicum chinense hot peppers, you can easily grow infinity chili peppers from seed in your home garden.
The chile seeds require optimum moisture for germination – often within 7-21 days. Sow your infinity pepper seeds indoors in nutrient-rich, well-drained soils.
After the seeds sprout, transfer them to pots or containers to harden the plants before moving the most robust pepper plants outside. Watch out for pests and diseases. Always water when necessary through drip irrigation instead of overhead sprinklers to avoid putting your pepper plants at risk of foliar diseases.
Within 90 days after transplanting, you’ll have mature, super-hot infinity peppers for your recipes.