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These Japanese Potato Chips Hospitalized Kids — So I Tried Them
Never again.
By Jay Andrew Allen
Japan isn’t known for its spicy foods. Quite the contrary. Many items that declare themselves “spicy!!” are quite tame compared to the spice levels of other famous cuisines across Asia.
As a lover of spicy foods myself, I seek out experiences in Tokyo that go beyond the usual threshold of “slight eyebrow flinch.” So when I heard a line of potato chips here had landed some high school kids in the hospital, I knew I had to try them.
Japan’s spiciest food ever?
The product in question comes from Isoyama Corporation (磯山商事), a packaged foods manufacturer based out of Hokota in Ibaraki Prefecture. They’re part of the company’s “18禁” (18-kin; R18) series, which also includes curries, chocolate, and a straight-up curry powder you can sprinkle on foods to make anything atomic.
How hot are the chips? According to the company’s website, they’re made from the infamous “ghost pepper,” or Bhut Jolokia. As measured on the Scoville scale of spiciness, the Bhut Jolokia — and, ostensibly, the chips — come out a…
