Contenders to the Throne: What is Really the World's Hottest Chile Pepper?

Scott Roberts December 4, 2010 at 3:44 pm food Digg this ArticleDigg Share via FacebookShare    

Contenders to the Throne: What is Really the World's Hottest Chile Pepper?Everyone knows that the Bhut Jolokia, AKA "Naga Jolokia", "Ghost Chile" or "Ghost Pepper", was crowned the official heat king of the capsicum genus four years ago by Guinness World Records at a then-high of 1,001,304 SHU. Of course, a cottage industry has been built around the heat (and flavor) of the jolokia with the draw that the customers will get to partake in the hottest the chile world can provide without getting into extract sauces.

With many more chile variants and cultivars still left to be discovered and tested, the hotness horse race is far from over. And chile pepper growers and sauce manufacturers alike would love to get access to the next big thing and grab a slice of a new sub-market based around the next "world's hottest".

My friends over at the Chile Foundry have been doing a crackerjack job at reporting on most of the other new contenders:

ChilliPepperPete Naga - Tested at 1,086,844 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) at Warwick University HRI. Reported on April 2, 2010.

Infinity Chilli - Tested at both 1,067,286 and 1,176,182 Scoville Heat Units at Warwick University. First reported on April 1, 2010.

The Cornish Naga - Tested at 1,178,988 SHU at the Mineral Analysis Laboratory. First reported October 24, 2010.

Naga Viper - Tested at 1,349,000 SHU at Warwick University. First reported on October 16, 2010.

Yesterday, December 3, 2010, the story on the Naga Viper broke out in news outlets like Yahoo! News and the UK's Daily Mail sending a firestorm of activity around the American chile blogs and among heat freaks on Facebook.

There's also a claim for the Dorset Naga (which had been previously tested in the several hundred thousand range but never above 1 million SHU) at being 1,598,227 SHU at Warwick University HRI. This one sounds really dubious, despite the fact that dorsets can be extremely hot!

What about other chile peppers with reportedly upper-echelon burn levels like the Trinidad Scorpion or the 7 Pod/7 Pot? Well, in the case of the Trinidad Scorpion, the Chile Pepper Institute in New Mexico has begun testing the chile in various soil types and is still trying to get a consistent and accurate SHU measurement, and it may take several more months before any conclusion is reached.

What's my take on all of this?

While I'm not doing anything to disparage my chilehead comrades in the UK, any "world's hottest" claim is just that - a claim. The chile peppers that have been gunning for the top spot may indeed have excruciating heat, right now it's little more than hype. Far more testing (and thorough analysis) should be done on these contenders and nothing is official until it's official.

Photo credits Clockwise from upper left: Naga Vipers - Cascade News; Infinity Chilli - The Sun, UK; Trinidad Scorpion - Jonathon Passow of http://www.thehotzoneonline.com; Dorset Nagas - http://www.dorsetnaga.com





     Comments
Comment Nick1987
2010-12-04 22:23:14
Whatever the case, all of them are hot! 'Nuff said.;-)
Comment Jackie Doeden
2010-12-04 22:37:37
The longer I grow peppers the more skeptical I get. Super hots by any name are HOT. NMSU is the only reliable tester as to how much heat is in a pepper in my opinion. Scoville may not be perfect but is better than any competition when it comes to measuring heat in peppers.
Comment Yarnydog
2010-12-05 09:08:44
Great write up Scott, You are right on the mark. It's only a claim and what the heck makes Warwick U the upmost authority anyway. Let's research this joint.
Yarnydog, Out!
Comment Hot Juan
2010-12-05 12:30:30
There is a lot of research to be done on theses super hot chillies, Warwick University are using HPLC a test that can be done by any well equipped lab. They have done this for lots of customers over the years.

Keep watch this space for updates to the stories, there is lots of info to follow as further testing is done, we also have heard hits of another super hot being tested very soon.

Enjoy, and thanks Scott for such a well balanced article.

Hot Juan - Editor
www.chilefoundry.co.uk
Comment David Stehnike
2010-12-05 13:29:50
Well written Scott. The fact is there will be new chile varieties via cross pollination, mutation etc... No doubt some are still out there waiting to be discovered. A perfect example is the Yellow Bhut Jolokia. It appeared in the crops of quite a few of us who grew the Chile Pepper institutes Red Bhut Jolokia seed stock. While there are some who feel it should have been "hidden from the world" until tested and proven over years, I made it available right away. I have had hundreds of people from over 12 countries in the past 2 years, write, email and call me with interest in the seed from this chile. While it is understandable that many cross pollinated "Mutts" appear on the scene, with unscroupulous sellers calling it something new, The fact is, the majority of people, especially chile growing fanatics are always interested in something new to grow, eat and enjoy. I will be growing this Naga Viper with eager anticipation. If it doesn't pan out, nothing lost. We'll add it to one of our chile pepper products!!
Comment CaJohn
2010-12-06 16:58:32
Straight from the CPI website:

Naga Viper

The Chile Pepper Institute has had many inquires about the Naga Viper, the latest claimant to the world's-hottest chile pepper, since yahoo and other wire services have run the story. The Chile Pepper Institute can not confirm that the Naga Viper is the world's hottest. To confirm that the Naga Viper is the world's hottest, a scientific replicated experiment will have to be done. Mr. Gerald Fowler, the developer of the Naga Viper, is a member of the Chile Pepper Institute. The Chile Pepper Institute has contacted him and asked for a seed sample. If Mr. Fowler is willing to submit a seed sample, The Chile Pepper Institute would grow the Naga Viper and the Bhut Jolokia side-by-side in replicated trials at New Mexico State University in 2011. The Chile Pepper Institute will keep our members appraised of the results.
Comment Jonathan Passow
2010-12-18 19:00:39
HEY! That picture of the T. Scorpion is mine!
Comment Nick1987
2010-12-20 08:10:48
Jonathon, Scott gave you a credit at the bottom.
Comment Jonathan Passow
2010-12-20 11:47:04
Ah, I missed that. It's refreshing to see someone give photo credits for once. Thanks, Scott! Stay classy and professional!
Comment PepperSeed
2011-01-31 21:37:16
Good write up, I had not heard of the ChilliPepperPete Naga.

       Add Your Comment:
* Name:
* E-mail:
Website:
Please include "http://" in your website address.
Leave blank:
  Notify me about new comments on this page
  Hide my email
* Comments:
*Captcha:  =
  (Please wait a minute or two after hitting "submit" for your comment to appear)