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How to survive the hot sauce of the apocalypse (pictures)

GE's atomic-level 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce embraces extremes of heat and human tolerance. So, Crave's Amanda Kooser dosed up some faux-Frito pies and tried it.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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1 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Face-melting hot sauce

The very air around this hot sauce screams out for mercy. 10^32Kelvin is the devilish creation of GE, men's lifestyle site Thrillist and pain-bringer High River Sauces. It's made from the world's hottest peppers and is meant to celebrate GE's work in high-performance materials for industrial engines.

I brought together a group of both hot-sauce lovers and hot-sauce dislikers to try GE's mad creation.

The sauce arrived in a silicon carbide tube capable of withstanding raging temperatures. Unfortunately, the tube couldn't withstand the rigors of shipping and arrived in pieces, having sacrificed itself to protect the bottle of precious cargo within.

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2 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

The hot-sauce cure

One does not simply just eat one of the hottest hot sauces in the world. First you must prepare for battle with a variety of capsaicin cures. Here, the 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce is surrounded by the anecdotal antidotes: ice cream, milk, sour cream, beer and pineapple juice.

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3 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

The first victim

Taste-testing a bottle of hot sauce from GE made with two of the world's hottest peppers is not the sort of thing you should do alone lest you slip into an otherworldly haze of fire and pain. Self-avowed hot-sauce lover Steve took the first dab of the sauce, declaring it surprisingly flavorful.

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4 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Forward unto dinner

GE, Thrillist and High River Sauces got together and challenged themselves to make one of the hottest hot sauces in the world. A pair of blazing peppers and some extra ingredients later and they birthed 10^32 Kelvin, a hot sauce limited to just 1,000 bottles. Here it poses with the fixings for a corn chip and chili dish known as Frito pie.

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5 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Let's put this on a faux-Frito pie

GE's blazing 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce can be eaten on its own, but its true power lies in applying it to cuisine. Here it decorates a faux-Frito pie, a dish made with a layer of corn chips topped with chili, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.

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6 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

I'm not scared

In my hand is the 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce from GE, Thrillist and High River Sauces. The collaboration is made with two of the world's hottest peppers, the Carolina Reaper and the Trinidad Moruga Scropion. I hold it aloft with confidence and prepare to chow down. This is the "before" picture.

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7 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Oh holy bejeezus

I ate GE's 10^32 Kelvin in liberal doses atop a corn chip and chili dish. At the time this photo was taken, my forehead felt constricted, my eyes popped open wide, my lips glowed red and I felt the power of the hot sauce washing over my entire body. I might not have seen God, but I definitely caught a glimpse of some angels. This is the "after" picture.

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8 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

The competition

I live in a magical place called New Mexico where just about any food item is available smothered in either red or green chile, our regional edible specialities. This is an example of chopped green chile. It's considered hot, but it's no match for the torch-like intensity of GE's 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce.

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9 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Fire fiend

I hosted a hot-sauce tasting party to get the opinions of both hot-sauce lovers and haters on GE's limited-edition 10^32 Kelvin sauce made from two of the world's hottest peppers. Hot-sauce fiend John downed a considerable amount of the fiery sauce. It took a beer, a can of pineapple juice and two bowls of ice cream to quench the burn.

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10 of 10 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Good night, sweet hot sauce

Note the level of red liquid left in this bottle of 10^32 Kelvin hot sauce. It brings new meaning to the phrase " a little dab will do you." A mere toothpick point of the stuff is enough to make your tongue tingle. The sauce is a celebration of some of the world's hottest peppers as well as GE's innovations in creating engine materials that can survive blazing temperatures.

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