The Allen County Farmers Market is in search of a few hearty souls with a hankering for the hot and spicy.
Thursday’s Farmers Market will feature the first-ever pepper eating contest.
The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. and will continue until the spiciest chili pepper is tasted — if the contest makes it that far.
Gardeners are invited to bring all sorts of pepper varieties to the contest.
The peppers will be rated according to the Scoville rating — a measurement of the spicy heat of a chili pepper — starting with the “heatless” bell pepper.
The peppers get progressively hotter, as jalapeno and habanero varieties are introduced.
Contestants must consume a pepper at each level, notes Debbie Bearden of Allen County Farm Bureau, which is organizing the event. No skipping, she warns.
Bearden said she was unsure what the first-place winner would get.
“Maybe we’ll just give them a gallon of milk,” she said.
Registration begins at 6 o’clock.
Competition sure to be heated
