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Hi, thanks for stopping by. My name is Gavin McArdell and I have been a bit of a chillihead and spicy food fan since I was about 10 years old. In July 2005 I stumbled across a chilli being grown in Dorset (UK) which was at the time simply called a "Naga". At first I assumed it was just a type of Scotch bonnet or habanero chilli, but once I started to use it in my cooking it soon became apparent that this chilli was something else. This chilli was so hot that even I was totally humbled by it on about 3 occasions over the ensuing couple of weeks and each time (being a bit slow on the uptake) I just assumed that maybe I couldn't handle hot food like I used to.The first timeOn the first occasion I had got my kids to cook one of our early Curry Kits to prove how easy they were and because they were eating too, they had cooked a mild chicken curry. I decided to spice mine up and took a Naga which I had dried to preserve it and just sprinkled it over the curry with my bare hands. I was in agony after a few mouthfuls and could barely finish the curry. It made me feel like a Phall novice again. That was not too bad however but for two days I could not get the burn off my fingers no matter how much I washed my hands. Whenever I touched any part of my body (and I don't mean just the sensitive bits) it would burn the skin for about 10 minutes. This was a tough chilli! The second time The second time this chilli beat me was about 3 or 4 weeks later. I had made a chutney using pure Nagas with a little salt, sugar and vinegar and reduced it down to a third of the starting volume. When I tried it a few days later with just the tiniest amount on the end of a spoon, my mouth erupted and it was a fantastic experience of the chilli burn, at this point I can honestly say that I was enjoying the pain. Then my enjoyment changed to agony as this tiny amount of chilli began to burn my stomach. I had never experienced that before and I was doubled up in agony for about an hour. Now at last I began to realise just how seriously hot these chillies were! The couple who cultivated and developed this chilli in Dorset had grown a true monster! They had the chillies tested for heat level with two scoville testing laboratories in the US. The results were awesome and the heat level has been measured at 970,000 and 876,000 Scoville Heat Units at the laboratories in the USA, making this Naga a contender for the title of ?hottest chilli in the world?. Realising what they had they renamed the chilli 'Dorset Naga' and set about to promote awareness of this great chilli. However it does mean that genuine 'Dorset Nagas' are extremely rare and difficult to obtain. Other Naga chillies such as Naga Morich from which Dorset Naga was cultivated and Naga Jolokia can sometimes be found but are never quite as pungent as the Dorset Naga. I have my own pet theory that as well as the cultivation that created the Dorset Naga, the British climate has something to do with it too. Less sun and slower growing conditions. But of course I know nothing about growing and gardening so I'll stop there. As an established customer I am one of the few people who can purchase Dorset Nagas in any sort of volume worth putting into production and the new years crop has just arrived. This year I am making an essentially pure chilli paste of Dorset Nagas. I have decided to do this rather than make sauce or chutney because it will best preserve the true flavour and original heat of the fresh fruit. These jars will be 195ml and blisteringly hot, so if you wish to purchase one please treat it with caution. Each jar is packed full of the Naga fruit and is extremely rare. I suspect we will make less than 200 jars this season. The price per jar is ?14.99 which is an inclusive price, no extra P&P etc. This price is high for 2 reasons, the small scale production and small volumes of the chilli fruit mean that we have to gear up our manufacturing unit to produce as few as 20-30 jars at a time. After processing the whole unit has to be completely cleaned and sterilised before we can process any lesser chilli products. Our usual production line is 500-1000 units. Also the safetly equipment, masks, goggles, gloves and aprons which have to be worn need to be of a medical grade and can be used once only. The fumes and residues produced are immensely overpowering. All chutneys, sauces and pastes are made fresh to order and will mature and improve over the following 1-4 weeks after receipt. Once opened this paste will keep in the refrigerator for 1 month. This product represents an interesting and unusual product which would be highly prized by any chef or chilli lover and makes a great gift. Pure Dorset Naga Paste. Made from The world's hottest chillies grown in Dorset.
