Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Beware of this delicacy, for it can be shockingly hot to the unprepared
> palate.

> 4 dry red chile pods

There are 17,000 kinds of chile peppers. Most of which turn red when
ripe and all of which can be dried.

However, the spiciness of them is nearly 6 orders of magnitude in
range.*

So, naturally, if you don't say what kind of pepper to use, it will in
some cases be shockingly hot - or sadly bland - to any palate.

--Blair

* - theoretically for capsaicin, log(16000000) = 7.204; for measured
values of naturally occurring peppers, log(855000) = 5.932