Love chili peppers? Did you know that they call it the “spice for a healthy life”? Actually if you’re a fan of spicy then perhaps you are aware of the wide abundance of hot spices. Today we will familiarize you with the standouts that many believe are a true challenge for the human palate.In case you didn’t know, it was in 1912 that pharmacist Wilbur Scoville who came up with the Scoville scale, which is used to measure the level of spiciness. Today scientists measure the spicy potential of different kinds of chili peppers, or more specifically the capsaicin contained in them, in spices and dishes, with quantities varying from 0 over 1 million. SHU is a way of quantifying how spicy a pepper is by measuring the concentration of
capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the chemical responsible for the spicy sensation within a pepper. Social Diary breaks down some of the hottest peppers out there:
Sambal Oelek
Sambal oelek – this Indonesian paste is found on the tables of many Asian restaurants but be careful because just 1 pinch is enough to transform an entire dish into a culinary hell, equal to about 10 000 Scoville units.
Red Savina
The Red Savina, a variety of habanero peppers, was for a long time considered the hottest chili pepper in the world. Up until 2006, it held this title in the Guinness Book of World Records… then came the bhut jolokia. It, in turn, reaches an amazing 1 million Scovilles. Wearing gloves is mandatory when handling it.
Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)
The Bhut jolokia, also known as ghost pepper, ghost chili and ghost jolokia, is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in the Northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.With over a million SHU, these peppers are hot. Some of the world’s spiciest peppers, in fact. Think you can handle it?
7 Pot Primo
A cross between the Naga Morich and Trinidad 7 Pot, The 7 Pot Primo has a fruity/floral flavor. It is very rare pepper made from true primo seeds are hard to come by. Its defining characteristic must be its long skinny “tail”, which some peppers cultivators have tried to replicate because it looks more perilous than a stingray.
Carolina Reaper
Bred by ‘Smokin’ Ed Currie, proprietor of the PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, the Carolina Reaper was certified as the world’s hottest chili pepper by the Guinness World Records on 11 August 2017.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is one of the hottest spices in the world. It bears its name in honor of the fiery chili peppers that grow around the Cayenne river in French Guiana. Often mistaken for paprika, cayenne pepper is typically a powder mixed with other spices – garlic, thyme, cloves, aromatic peppers, cumin and even dry onion powder.
