Tuesday, July 31, 2007

World's hottest chili

Came across an article in the New York Times today about India's beloved bhut jolokia, the world's hottest chili:

A chili's spiciness can be scientifically measured by calculating its content of capsaicin, the chemical that gives a pepper its bite, and counting its Scoville units.

And how hot is the bhut jolokia?

As a way of comparison: Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units. Your basic jalapeno pepper measures anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000. The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles.

The bhut jolokia crushed those contenders, testing at 1,001,304 Scoville units.

My nose is running just thinking about it. Also, who knew that there was a scale for the measure of a chili's spiciness? How great is that? Before, my spiciness threshold was probably at the level of a poblano. But thanks to TJ, it's now at least a serrano.

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