Sweet Peppers: A. Bell Pepper, B. Sweet Banana, C. Pimento

Bell Peppers

Tiwari, A., Vivian-Smith, A., Voorrips, R.E., Habets, M. E.J., Xue, L.B., Offringa, R., and E. Heuvelink. 2011. "Parthenocarpic Potential in Capsicum annuum L. is Enhanced by Carpelloid Structures and Controlled by a Single Recessive Gene." BMC Plant Biology 11:143. Published Online doi: 10.1186/1471-2229-11-143.

Assorted  Peppers: A. Bell Pepper B. Hungarian      Hot Wax C. Habanero D. Jalapeño E. Cayenne F. Serrano

Hot Peppers: A. Anaheim B. Hungarian Wax C. Jalapeño D. Carribean E. Habanero F. Cayenne G. Super Chile H. Serrano

For serious pepper connoisseurs, there is a simple taste test that measures the tongue-scorching capsaicin content of these fruits. The highest capsaicin concentration is found in the placental region where the seeds are attached. Originally, human laboratory animals were "asked" to taste a series of peppers and rate their hotness. Since veteran pepper eaters tended to be desensitized to the intense heat, the test was performed on people who were not regular pepper eaters. The amount of heat is expressed in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). Science is ever-changing, and a new quantitative technique called High Performance Liquid Chromatography has been developed to measure the concentration of capsaicin in Scoville Heat Units. Bell peppers have a value of zero because they are homozygous recessive and lack the dominant gene for capsaicin production. Jalapenos and cayenne varieties may vary from 3,500 to 35,000 SHUs, and ripe tabasco peppers flame in at 50,000 SHUs. With values of 200,000 to 300,000, habanero peppers can be absolutely excruciating. A heavy duty pepper spray unit (resembling a small fire extinguisher) sold in Montana for grizzly bear protection has a SHU rating of two million.

Bhut Jolokia

According to the 2007 Guninness Book of World Records, the 'Bhut Jolokia' variety of chile pepper grown in the hilly terrain of Assam, India is the hottest chile pepper. Other names for this variety are 'Bih Jolokia', 'Naga Jolokia' and 'Naga Morich.' It has a reported heat index of 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The Bhut Jolokia is about three times as hot as the average habanero (300,000 SHU). According to The Complete Chile Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt and Paul Bosland (Timber Press, 2010), DNA tests revealed that it belongs to the C. chinense group of chile peppers along with the notorious habanero, but also contains C. frutescens genes as well.

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

As of March 1, 2011, the world's hottest pepper according to the on-line Guinness World Records is the 'Trinidad Scorpion Butch T' grown by The Chile Factory in Australia. Tests conducted by EML Consulting Service in Morisset, New South Wales revealed a heat index of 1,463,700 SHU. It originated in Trinidad and has a slender pointed apex like a scorpion's stinger. This strain was discovered by Butch Taylor, owner of Zydeco Hot Sauce.

Scorpion Stinger

Records are made to be broken, and this is certainly the case with chile peppers. As of February 10, 2012, the world's record for the hottest pepper is the 'Moruga Scorpion' ('Moruga Scorpion' Pepper is the World's Hottest Chile Pepper at more than 2 million Scoville Heat Units, Gregory Reeves, Danise Coon & Paul Bosland, Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003). The mean SHU was 1,207,764, with the highest value at 2,009,231. According to Guinness World Records (2013), the hottest chile pepper is the "Carolina Reaper" with an average SHU value of 1,569,300 and high SHU of 2,200.000! Since the "hotness" of chile peppers may be affected by environmental conditions (incl. soil, nutrients, water, temperature, etc.), competing strains should ideally be grown under identical conditions and tested in the same lab.

The current (May 2016) hottest chile pepper listed by Wikipedia and the Guinness Book of World Records is the "Carolina Reaper" (High Heat: 2.2 million SHU). This is reportedly a hybrid cultivar originating from a cross between the ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia) and red habanero.

Hotness of a chile pepper can vary depending on the environmental conditions under which the specimen grew and how the laboratory test was conducted. The capsaicin (capsaicinoid) content of a chile pepper is determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC data is converted from parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) to Scoville Heat Units (SHU) by multiplying it by 16. Pure capsaicin was defined as 16 million SHU, although it was originally defined as 15 million. A multiplier of 15 instead of 16 will reduce the SHU rating by 6.25 percent. For example, a ground-up pepper sample that is 1000 ppm capsaicin will have a hotness rating of 16,000 SHU. Using 15 as your multiplier reduces the SHU rating by 1000. It is important for different laboratories to be consistent in their analyses and use the same multiplier. HPLC should be calibrated first using a known concentration of capsaicin solution. The ground up chile fruit (seeds, pericarp and placenta) should be carefully weighed and prepared the same way. Most of the capsaicin is in the placental region where the seeds are attached, so it is imperative to indicate exactly which part of the chile is ground up for testing. Grinding up only the placental region, and not the entire pepper, will give a higher SHU rating. Until unbiased replicated experiments have been conducted by independent labs, conclusions on the hottest chile pepper are open for discussion.

According to Dr. Paul Bosland, director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University (Personal Communication, 2011), the heat levels of a single plant can be up to 78 percent higher than the average for the field in which it was grown. Thus, one single plant may be a record setter for that year and location, but it does not prove the variety as a whole is record setting. While a single pumpkin can be crowned "the biggest" in pumpkin size contests, should a single fruit of a very hot Capsicum variety deserve to be listed as a record breaker? In order to conduct a scientifically valid test to determine the hottest chile pepper variety, an ample seed sample must be planted in replicated trials that include the current hottest variety and appropriate controls. A random sample of fruit from the replicated varieties should then be tested at an independent legitimate testing facility. The variety with the statistically higher heat level could then be considered as the reigning hottest variety. Single fruits would not qualify, nor would samples without appropriate comparisons. If the 'Bhut Jolokia' had also been growing in the Butch T field, might it have been hotter than 1,463,700 SHU? Only a controlled scientific test would give us the "true" answer.

According to Cucurbits, the official newsletter of the World Pumpkin Confederation, a 1993 record-breaking pumpkin weighed in at 836 pounds and a giant squash tipped the scales at just over 700 pounds. One year later at the "gourd olympics" in Port Elgin, Ontario, the reign of the pumpkin was broken by a 900 pound squash. There have been other unofficial records for pumpkins exceeding 900 pounds. To enter your prize pumpkin in the official World Pumpkin Confederation Annual Weigh-Off, it must be cream-yellow to orange; if it is green to gray or mottled in color it must be entered as a squash. Many pumpkins are varieties of Cucurbita pepo, although the largest pumpkins probably come from C. maxima.

In case you accidentally bite into a very hot chile pepper in a dimly-lit restaurant, try sipping on a dairy product, the thicker and creamier the better. The protein casein helps to remove the capsaicin molecules from your tongue and mouth.

An assortment of pepper spray canisters. The large red canister (the size of a small fire extinguisher) is designed for grizzly bears.

The historical spice pepper of the Middle Ages refers to the black pepper (Piper nigrum ) which belongs to a completely different plant family (chile peppers belong to the tomato family or Solanaceae while black peppers belong to the Piperaceae). The native distribution of this tropical vine is southern India, Ceylon and Malaysia. The dried, black, seed-bearing berries (called peppercorns) are ground up and used as seasoning. [Peppercorns have also been used as a nonlethal but painful replacement for lead pellets in shotgun shells.] In white pepper, the black husk is removed and the inner white seeds are ground up. In 1492 Columbus set out from Spain for the "Spice Islands" of the East Indies, but instead he ended up in the Caribbean region. Just as the West Indies were named because Columbus was searching for India, so the New World capsicum pepper was called "red pepper" because the crew was hoping to find the valuable spice pepper. With all due respect to Captain Columbus, this remarkable story makes you wonder about his navigational skills.

Kava Kava (Piper methysticum) A close relative of black pepper is called "kava kava" (Piper methysticum). A drink made from the roots is used in Polynesian religious rituals and social life. This is also a popular herb sold throughout the world as a mild sedative and tranquilizer. Note: Taking this herb with other synthetic tranquilizers and mood-altering drugs may result in serious side effects.

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