YumSugar

Hot! Hot! Hot Peppers!

YumSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:18:33 -0800

There are hot peppers and then there are HOT peppers. This afternoon we were talking about the Scoville rating system and how some peppers are hotter than others. The Scoville scale measures how hot chili peppers are. The number of Scoville heat units indicate how much capsaicin is present in the pepper. Capsaicin is the chemical compound responsible for the hot sensation you feel when eating a pepper.

Recently, an ESPN reporter casually took a bite out of a Bhut Joloki pepper, not realizing how hot it would be. Not even milk could cut the heat. If you want to see how he handled it, read more

Competitive Eating Around the US

YumSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:38:39 -0700

Most people have heard of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs 4th of July competition - the one where Takeru Kobayashi shoves hot dogs in his mouth at lightening speeds - but did you realize that there are many different kinds of competitive eating contests? If you think shoving 59 hot dogs in your face is wild, how do you feel about pigs' feet and knuckles (the winner recently ate 2.89 pounds of the stuff) or gyoza (212 of them). In fact there are so many competitive eating contests that the folks at Senselist have actually put together a list of their favorite 16 competitive eating contests. Of those 16, my faves include:

Rhubarb Pie: Winner ate 7.9 pounds of rhubarb pie in eight minutes; North Dakota State Fair, July 2006
Jalapeno Peppers: Winner ate 247 pickled jalapenos in eight minutes; State Fair of Texas, October 2006
Strawberry Shortcake: Winner ate 15.25 pounds of strawberry shortcake in eight minutes; Mattituck, NY, June 2007
Chili Cheese Fries: Winner ate 5.44 pounds of fries; Long Beach, CA, February 2007
Whole Turkey: Winner ate 4.8 pounds of turkey in 12 minutes; Artie’s Deli, New York, NY, November 2006

Oh and don't forget, Nathan's hot dog eating contest will actually air on ESPN tomorrow at 12pm ET. While you're waiting for your bbq to warm up, you can watch the much anticipated face-off between Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut (aka that guy who broke Kobayashi's record).

Speaking of records, the list of competitive eating records is pretty darn impressive. 7.75 pounds of turduckens in 12 minutes?!?

Source: SenseList and IFOCE

Man Dies in Company-Sponsored Pastry Eating Contest

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:22 -0800

A few months ago we noticed that competitive eating was a rapidly growing "sport": This year, 1.5 million people tuned in to ESPN to watch the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, and there's now a game, Major League Eating, available on the Nintendo Wii. Yet while it's entertainment for many, it comes at a cost for others. Yesterday, Saurab Sabharwal, a 22-year-old engineer at Nokia-Siemens in Gurgaon, India, died during a company-sponsored pastry eating contest held in the office cafeteria. After choking, he ran to the bathroom alone, and was found unconscious an hour later. Colleagues called for an ambulance, which rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. This isn't the first death we've heard of from competitive eating. Last month, a Taiwanese student fell unconscious and died during a steamed bun eating contest.

Does this call for further measures to be taken, so that others don't get hurt? Should a medical expert have been mandated to stand by, just in case? Or should government officials consider placing a ban on eating contests?

Source

Yum Market Finds: Splendid Super Bowl Stuff

partysugar — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 03:37:12 -0800

Browsing the Yum Market is one of my favorite activities at work. Not only do I get to see all of the amazing items you share, but I learn about new and exciting websites. This week I was looking for fun football related finds that can take a Super Bowl party to the next level. Here is what I L-O-V-E:

Crispet1 found this football shaped crockpot that actually functions! How crazy cool is that? I may run to Target the day after the game to see if they are on sale and send one to my sports-fanatical brother (seriously I call his apartment the ESPN zone!) as a half birthday gift.

Two more so, read more

Worried that all those guys are going to destroy your beautiful kitchen table? Take rubialala's advice and cover it with a bright green football field tablecloth. This could work double duty at a little boy's birthday party as well.

LizaToad's dark whole hazelnut chocolates are perfect for my football shaped candy dispenser. I was looking for a dark brown colored candy to make the clear dispenser appear more like a football and these nutty chocolates are perfect (not to mention they are called Ritter Sport!). Thanks for helping me out Lizatoad!

Don't know how to save on TeamSugar? geeksugar's guide can teach you how to submit your stuff to the Yum Market.