The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency of chili peppers, as recorded in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, whose 1912 method is known as the Scoville organoleptic test. The Scoville organoleptic test is the most practical method for estimating SHU and is a subjective assessment derived from the capsaicinoid sensitivity by people experienced with eating hot chilis.
The chili pepper, from Nahuatl chīlli, is the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum which are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add pungent 'heat' to dishes. Capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids are the substances giving chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically.
Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist.
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 Scoville Heat Unit scores of over 2 million. Some taxonomists consider them to be part of the species C. annuum, and they are a member of the C. annuum complex; however, C. chinense and C. annuum pepper plants can sometimes be distinguished by the number of flowers or fruit per node – two to five for C. chinense and one for C. annuum – though this method is not always correct. The two species can also hybridize and generate inter-specific hybrids. It is believed that C. frutescens is the ancestor to the C. chinense species.
The Red Savina pepper is a cultivar of the habanero chili, which has been selectively bred to produce spicier, heavier, and larger fruit, ultimately more potent than its derivative.
Siling labuyo is a small chili pepper cultivar that developed in the Philippines after the Columbian Exchange. It belongs to the species Capsicum frutescens and is characterized by triangular fruits which grow pointing upwards. The fruits and leaves are used in traditional Philippine cuisine. The fruit is pungent, ranking at 80,000 to 100,000 heat units in the Scoville Scale.
A chili grenade is a type of non-lethal weapon developed by Indian military scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation for use by the Indian Armed Forces. The weapon is similar to tear gas. Currently "civilian variants" are being used for crowd control in Jammu and Kashmir.
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 current world record holder the Carolina Reaper in 2017.
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. 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.
The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper is a Capsicum chinense cultivar that is among the hottest peppers in the world. It is 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.
The Trinidad Moruga scorpion is a chili pepper native to the village of Moruga, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the spiciest chilies in the world. In 2012, New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute identified the Trinidad Moruga scorpion as the hottest chili at that time, with heat of 1.2 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). In 2017 according to Guinness World Records, the hottest pepper was the Carolina Reaper, with 1.6 million SHU.
The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant. Developed by South Carolina breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. In 2017, Guinness World Records declared it the hottest chili pepper in the world, surpassing the previous record holder, the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T".
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 and is closely related to the Naga Morich.
Trinidad Scorpion may refer to:
Bird's eye chili, bird eye chili, bird's chili, or Thai chili is a chili pepper, a variety from the species Capsicum annuum, commonly found in Ethiopia and across Southeast Asia. It is used extensively in many Asian cuisines. It may be mistaken for a similar-looking chili derived from the species Capsicum frutescens, the cultivar "siling labuyo". Capsicum frutescens fruits are generally smaller and characteristically point upwards.
The habanero is a hot variety of the chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 centimetres long. Habanero chilis are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero's heat, flavor and floral aroma make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
Dragon's Breath is a chili pepper cultivar officially tested at 2.48 million Scoville units, a claim that would make it the second-hottest chili on record after Pepper X. "Guinness World Records" has different accredited results on the matter, showing the Carolina Reaper as the hottest in the world.
Pepper X is a cultivar of Capsicum chili pepper bred by Ed Currie, creator of the Carolina Reaper. Pepper X resulted from several cross breedings that produced an exceptionally high content of capsaicin in the locules of the pepper. The exceptional pungency of the chili was developed over 10 years of cultivation. According to Currie, he started developing Pepper X as he found his favourite chili peppers too mild and wanted to have a pepper that had more heat while retaining the flavor.
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".
