Hot Peppers? Try World's HOTTEST Pepper & Record Holder

by Joanne Lutynec, Posted Feb 20th 2007 @ 3:04PM

Weighing in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, the Bhut Jolokia chili from India has been named the world's hottest pepper by the Guinness Book of World Records. Just to put that into perspective, the jalapeno sits at a meager 10,000 SHU.

Early last year, the world's hottest pepper recorded was the Red Savina chili, which registered at 577,000 SHU, but in April that changed to the Dorset Naga which tested between 876,000 and 970,000 SHU. When it gets that hot, I don't really know that the number really makes much of a difference!

The Scoville scale, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, was created to measure the heat level in chillies and is used world-wide today. To give you an idea where some of your favorite peppers sit on the list:

0 - Bell Pepper
100-500 - Pepperoncini
1000-1500 - Poblano
2500-10,000 - Jalapenos and Chipolte
5000-23,000 - Serrano
30,000-50,000 - Cayenne
80,000 & up - Habenero, Scotch Bonnet

(Thanks, Shaula!)
(edit: the photo credit link has been updated)

Find hot pepper recipes on KitchenDaily.com.

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Reader comments (Page 3 of 3)

2-20-2007 @10:48PM Lynne said... This weekend the boyfriend decided to chop a bunch of habeneros and saute them, then marinate them in seasoning. I didn't realize what he was doing until he flipped the batch in the frying pan, and started coughing from the pepper smoke. I laughed, until the smoke hit me. Imagine having atomic buffalo wings rubbed all over your face, in your eyes, shoved into your nose. It was worse.

We opened windows and left the apartment for a while. When we came back, the air was much better. An hour or two later we discovered that the oils take a long time to wash off hands. Even though he'd used soapy water several times.... let's say that it was a personal and painful lesson.
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2-21-2007 @3:34AM jpb said... FYI, capsaicin (the ingredient that makes peppers hot) is fat soluble. Rinsing your hands with whole milk will help make the burning stop.
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2-21-2007 @8:16AM Mirko Junge said... use any cheap vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil) to get the capsaicin of your skin (rubbing it, like it is soap), then use cold water and soap to get the oil of.
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3-22-2007 @6:25PM moe said... I learned my lesson eating jalapenos while drinking beer. A lot of beer.
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2-21-2007 @8:05PM Jaminben867 said... An even better cure for the burn on your finger is to use some bleach water to clean off your hands. It will heat up a little, but then the chemical reaction will turn the capsaicin into a 'salt'

I use this method anytime I chop a lot of habs!
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3-11-2007 @4:49PM mark said... Its bangladeshi cousin the Naga Morich is just as hot. Eating one is like thrusting a red hot poker up your nose - great fun!!!!

You can find out all about the worlds hottest chiles (Bhut Jolokia & Naga Morich here)

http://www.thechileman.org/index.php

Click on the hottest peppers on the plant icon)

Mark
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4-14-2007 @4:08AM mark said... Hi Everyone,

Here is a close up picture of a mock up bottle of our new Naga Snakebite Extreme Sauce. You can almost see the Naga fumes seaping out the bottle. :shock:

[img]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y295/thechileman/Naga%20Morich%20Gallery/IMG_0371_1.jpg[/img]

Imaguitargod (one of our friends on the hot pepper forum) stupidly ate 1 Naga in his infamous thread.

http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?t=1324

Imagine what a sauce with upto 10 Fresh Naga Morich peppers in it tastes like

More info (for those interested) can be found on thechileman site (www.thechileman.org).

Mark
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6-21-2007 @11:54PM Maisnam said... I would like to put some light in this thread. The real name of the world record for hottest pepper is not Bhut Jolokia (It may be a scientific name, m not sure). But the common name for this chilli is "OO-Morok". This chilli is a delicacy for manipuri people, located at north eastern region of India. OO stands for "tree" and morok stands for "chilli". And this chilli is only known to the region and, other part of the country dont even know its existence.

so get informed....
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10-28-2007 @6:06PM PHowardEsq said... World's hottest? Bring it on! I remember trying a "real Indian curry" quite a few years ago while in undergrad school. That puppy felt like I'd swallowed a lit blowtorch!

That was some GOOD stuff....
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11-10-2007 @6:19PM Brett Roberts said... hey im brett 13yrs old, i had one of them Bhut Jolokia Peppers at lunch on friday. man those things are unforgivable (and i only had half and less then 1half of the seeds in it). after the first 10 seconds there was a change in my expressions my throat swelled and my tears were flowing like niagra falls. but after 5 packets of ketchup, 5 milks, and a soft pretzel i was good, but i feel sick from it even after a day.
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11-28-2007 @8:01PM Darrell Conaway said... My dad used to raise this pepper that he called a "yo-yo" pepper. I don't know what it was. I haven't seen one in over 30 years, but it looked a lot like half a Duncan Butterfly yo-yo, hence the name. Of course that was just my dad's moniker for the pepper, he knew no other name. It was a medium green, nearly two inches in diameter, and only 3/4 inch long. I don't know if it would've changed color with age. That's the only color I ever saw. It would bring tears to the eyes of even seasoned pepper eaters! I believe it was some sort of Habanero or Scotch Bonnet, but I haven't seen the exact same specimen yet. If anyone has any info I would greatly appreciate it.
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12-13-2007 @3:35PM mark said... Hi Guys,

For those of you that were brave (or stupid enough) to try our blisteringly hot Naga sauce - Naga Snakebite Private Reserve, a new batch is now availbe here:

http://www.thechileman.org/naga_morich.php

This sauce has been reviewed by several of the worlds top hot sauce sites and had gained a fearsome reputation as one of the worlds hottest natural chilli sauces. In addition our secret recipie will delight your tastebuds before blowing your mind!!

Enjoy

Mark
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1-04-2008 @8:22PM Tom in Claremont said... Once, while out on a data, I used my hands to crush hot peppers all over my pizza. Because I was macho. But when I returned from the restroom, my junk began to get real hot. After a while I was squirming in my seat until it was so obvious that I had to confess what an idiot I was. DOHH!
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1-09-2008 @7:30PM Peter A. Sagi said... Cayenne peppers are great for health, the hotter the better, but you have to know how to eat them. The answer is ginger root. Here is my recipe for a habenero shooter. I will upgrade to the new champ from India when I can find one fresh, but until then the habenero will do just fine.

Use a high speed vegatable juicer. Cut two 1" diameter pieces of fresh ginger root about 1.5" in length. Measurements are approximate, of course.

Split one of those pieces open in half lengthwise and put either 1/4 or 1/2 or a whole habenero pepper inside to make a habenero sandwich between two pieces of ginger root. Start off with 1/4 habenero until you can tolerate more.

Juice the whole piece of ginger root into a small tea cup or shot glass, set aside. Next, juice the "habanero sandwich" into another small tea cup or shot glass.

Toss back the pure ginger juice. DO NOT TRY TO SIP. The only way to get either shooter down is to toss it back like a shot of tequilla. Once you toss back the ginger juice, your brain will tell you for a few seconds "THIS IS EXTREMELY HOT!!!!!!!!" But that only lasts a few seconds, after which your brain will tell you "Ahhh, this is soooo cooool and soooooooooooothing!" Generally that takes no more than 30 seconds to a minute. Once you are into that feeling of cool and soothing, you toss back the ginger/habanero shooter. Again, your brain will tell you "BOY, THIS IS HOT!" and again, it only lasts a few seconds, and it gives way to a feeling of pleasant warmth spreading out all over your body and a feeling of being well oiled and powerful and awake and totally alert. You may start sweating a bit. It is a very pleasant sensation, very similar to the feeling of being totally warmed up for a workout.

The mechanism is that the habanero causes your stomach to tell your brain that it is on fire, and your brain attempts to extinguish the blaze with your own natural endorphins. The ginger prevents you from experiencing the negative effects, such as being doubled over in pain, which can result from NOT using it. The business of putting the habanero inside the ginger root has to do with the mechanics of the juicer, because a high speed juicer would otherwise not accommodate the pepper.

Try it, you will like it. The first time you do it you will cop a totally natural intense high. If you do it daily you develop a tolerance but you still get that wonderful "warmed up and ready to work out" feeling. It is great for circulation and helps keep blood pressure in spec.

Pete
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