Infinity chili

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Infinity chili pepper
Infinity-Chilli-Pepper.jpg
Species Capsicum chinense
BreederNick Woods
Origin Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
Heat Chilli55.svg Exceptionally hot
Scoville scale 1,067,286 SHU

The Infinity Chili pepper is a chili pepper hybrid of the Capsicum chinense species created in England by chili breeder Nicholas Woods of Fire Foods, Grantham, Lincolnshire. [1] For two weeks in February 2011, the Infinity Chili held the Guinness World Record title for the world's hottest chili with a Scoville scale rating of 1,067,286 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). On March 1, 2011, it was displaced by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper, which registered 1,463,700 SHU. [2]

Contents

Woods created the Infinity Chili five years after he started growing chili peppers for his hot sauces. He was not attempting to breed a new variety, but was growing his peppers in a greenhouse where crossbreeding between varieties happens readily. He described first trying his new pepper as: "When I tried it tasted nice at first, like an odd fruity taste, the effect is delayed. Then it hit me. All of a sudden I felt it burning in the back of my throat, so hot that I couldn't speak. I began to shake uncontrollably, I had to sit down, I felt physically sick. I really wouldn't recommend anybody eat it raw like that." [3]

The Bindi restaurant in Grantham served a curry, called "The Widower", made with 20 Infinity chilies, claiming to be the world's hottest curry. More than three hundred people tried the curry before Dr. Ian Rothwell became the first person to finish a dish, taking just over an hour, including 10 minutes spent hallucinating due to the endorphin rush. [4]

Testing

Testing of the chili's Scoville rating was carried out at the University of Warwick's Crop Centre during March, 2010. [5]

Both the tests for the Infinity Chili and the Naga Viper, also done at University of Warwick, were heavily criticized by respected pepper researchers; Dr. Dave DeWitt of The Chile Pepper Institute stated: "With one test, the most you can show is that a single pepper--or a part of a single pepper--had that heat rating. To establish that a variety of pepper is consistently the world's hottest, you need more than that." Even the researchers at the University of Warwick were surprised by both bestowals of world's hottest pepper as they had thought that another independent verification and proof of cultivar stability would be needed. [6] As it is possible to vary the heat within a strain by stressing the plant through various techniques such as selectively withholding water and five years is not sufficient time to breed a new cultivar, and especially not to stabilize it, the researchers and growers rejected the claims of both the Infinity pepper and the Naga Viper in favor of the Trinidad Scorpion. [6]

Since the controversy with the Infinity Chili and Naga Viper, both of which appear to have been stressed unstable hybrids measured at a peak, and with the increasing number of contenders for hottest chili pepper, Guinness World Records has required more verification of heat levels and of cultivar stabilization. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chili pepper</span> Varieties of peppers belonging to several species of Capsicum genus

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<i>Capsicum chinense</i> Species of flowering plant

Capsicum chinense, commonly known as a "habanero-type pepper", is a species of chili pepper native to the Americas. C. chinense varieties are well known for their unique flavors and many have exceptional heat. The hottest peppers in the world are members of this species, with a Scoville Heat Unit score of 2.69 million measured in the C. chinense cultivar, Pepper X in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Savina pepper</span> Chili pepper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siling labuyo</span> Chili pepper cultivar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naga Viper pepper</span> Hot chili pepper

The Naga Viper pepper is a hot chili pepper. In 2011, it was recorded as the "World's Hottest Chili" by the Guinness World Records with a rating of 1,382,118 Scoville heat units (SHU), but was surpassed in SHU by the Carolina Reaper, in 2017, and again by the latest world record holder Pepper X in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper</span> Chili pepper

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is a Capsicum chinense cultivar that is among the hottest peppers in the world. It is a hybrid pepper and thus not indigenous to anywhere; however, its hybrid parentage is derived from the Trinidad Moruga scorpion indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. It was named by Neil Smith from The Hippy Seed Company, after he got the seeds originally from Butch Taylor who is responsible for propagating the pepper's seeds. The "scorpion" peppers are referred to as such because the pointed end of the pepper is said to resemble a scorpion's stinger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad Moruga scorpion</span> Exceptionally hot chili pepper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Reaper</span> Exceptionally hot cultivar of C. chinense pepper plant

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The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habanero</span> Strain of chili (Capsicum)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepper X</span> Cultivar of Capsicum chili pepper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hottest chili pepper</span> Informal pepper competition

Especially among growers in the US, the UK, and Australia, there has been a competition since the 1990s to grow the hottest chili pepper. Chili pepper species and cultivars registering over 1,000,000 Scoville Heat units (SHU) are called "super-hots". Past Guinness World Record holders include the ghost pepper, Infinity chili, Trinidad Moruga scorpion, Naga Viper pepper, Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, and Carolina Reaper. The current record holder, declared in 2023, is Pepper X, at more than 2.69 million SHU.

The Armageddon chili pepper is the world's first F1 'Super Hot' chili pepper. It is a hybrid of C. chinense and C. frutescens. Armageddon was developed by hot pepper grower and developer, Salvatore Genvoese of the UK. It was introduced to the UK market in 2019. The pepper holds a rating of 1.3 million SHU.

References

  1. ↑ Henderson, Neil (February 19, 2011). "'Record-breaking' chilli is hot news". BBC News . Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Hottest chili". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ Evans, Martin (February 17, 2011). "World's hottest chilli grown in Grantham". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ "A British Doctor is First Person to Successfully Finish a Plate of World's Hottest Curry".
  5. ↑ "Infinity Chili – New Guinness World Record Holder". The Chili Foundry. February 15, 2011. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Adams, Paul (July 7, 2011). "FYI: What is the Hottest Pepper in the World?". Popular Science. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ Leckart, Steven (October 29, 2013). "In Search of the World's Spiciest Pepper". Maxim. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
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