Food with peppercorns attracts gourmets because the dish, which added hot pepper, has a brighter taste and aroma. In the usual kitchen, the hostess most often meets black fragrant peas, but there are a lot of really bitter varieties.
The Guinness Book contains the sharpest peppers in the world, some of them are used in cooking in restaurants, others are used for sauces, and others are used as components of military and protective weapons.
Pepper Story
Thanks for the emergence of a burning culture in Europe follows Columbus, who first brought this plant from one of his travels. India is considered the birthplace of allspice black pepper , while the real spicy varieties of this plant grew in South America, and by the time the great navigator discovered the New World, its indigenous population had already “domesticated” several of them.
Soon a triumphal procession of burning fruits around the world began. Doctors who made pepper tinctures and plasters wrote about their benefits. Cooks using sharp additives changed the taste of long-familiar dishes and created new recipes.
A century after the journey of Columbus, domesticated varieties of hot pepper grew in vegetable gardens and greenhouses in different countries . The species of chili was brought to Russia in the 18th century, but by this time it was already well-known not only in Europe, but also in the countries of the east.
Varieties - "millionaires"
Once a scientist from America Wilbur Scoville decided to establish the sharpness of various varieties of pepper, for which tasters were invited. Their job was to sample the pods after a sip of water with sugar. The intensity of the sensations of the tasters formed the basis of his first scale.
With the progress and development of the chemical industry, it became possible to determine the sharpest peppers in the world by laboratory methods. The new scale was named after Scoville, perpetuating his name. There are varieties that are slightly bitter, but there are also ones that will make a person experience very unpleasant sensations, or he may even get a burn.
Truly "vigorous" are considered fruits whose severity exceeds the Scoville scale mark by 1 million. These include:
- Trinidad Scorpion CARDI is a variety bred by the breeders of the Caribbean Agricultural Institute of Trinidad. The name "scorpion", given a series of these plants, is very suitable for him, since the shape of its tip resembles a sting, and the sharpness is simply unbelievable. The fruits of this pepper are not used in food, since it should be collected and processed in protective clothing and gloves. From it in Trinidad they make a chemical weapon - tear gas. To date, it is considered one of the most dangerous among peppers, having an indicator of 1 million Scovilla.
- Naga Morich - leads its “pedigree” from northern India and Bangladesh. The indigenous population of these countries, knowing about the insidious burning properties of the fruits of this plant, eat it in unripe form. Gourmets who know how to feel not only sharpness, but also the taste of pepper, claim that he has fruit, close to an orange and pineapple.
- "Bhut Djolokiya" - a millionaire who fell into the Guinness Book of Records in 2011 in the category "the sharpest peppers in the world." This variety appeared naturally, and its stinginess is directly related to where it grows. The homeland of the most "slaughtered" is the north-east of India, while in the central part of the country it is completely harmless. The state government allowed the use of "bhut djolokiya" in tear grains to disperse the hooligans.
- "Chocolate Dhokoliya Bhut" is as famous as its red brother, but it is extremely rare in nature, so it is grown on plantations and used for cooking curry dishes.
Not all hot pepper varieties, as it turned out, grow in a natural environment and are used for cooking. But there are varieties much sharper.
Varieties with more than 1 million units
To date, many plants are bred by crossing different species in laboratories. Hybrid varieties of pepper did not escape this.
- 7 Pot Chili - originally from Trinidad, and its name came from the Jamaican saying that one fruit is enough for seven pots of food to pepper the dish and give it a flavor.
- Gibralta is related to Spain, since now it is his homeland, but he was created in the laboratory of England. In order for the plant to justify its acuity, extreme conditions for growth are created for it - high air temperature in enclosed spaces. It cannot be found in the Spanish kitchen, but it is delivered to restaurants for cooking traditional dishes.
- Infinity chili has 1,176,182 units and was bred artificially in the UK, a country without traditionally spicy dishes. This red hot pepper is completely unappealing in appearance, but real gourmets love it.
- Naga Viper was bred by breeder Gerald Fowler by crossing 3 different varieties of peppers. In order to grow it, you should buy seeds every time, since with each new generation its properties are reduced. To buy planting material, you need to sign up in the queue, as there are many lovers of such a "pungent" around the world.
Such varieties of pepper should be used very carefully in cooking and follow the dosage according to the recipe.
Varieties over 1.5 million
There are not so many varieties that have exceeded the 1.5 million units on the Scoville scale. Among them:
- Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is the 2011 Guinness Book Record. One must be truly extreme in order to add it to food. The chef needs protective clothing, a mask and double latex gloves. If pepper gets on the skin, then in addition to burning, a person gets numb in this place for a couple of days.
- 7 Pot Douglah is a type of chocolate pepper, but with a mark of 1.8 million on a scale. Oddly enough, this hybrid variety has fans who claim to be the most juicy, fragrant and hot chili.
Such experiments of breeders should be treated with extreme caution, as you can get health problems for life.
Varieties having 2 million units
In the ranking of “the sharpest peppers in the world” there are 2 varieties that have crossed the line of 2 million on the Scovilla scale:
- Trinidad Moruga Scorpion is the only natural specimen of such sharpness. It grows in Trinidad. In one pod there is as much capsaicin as in a gas can. Even a very small piece can kill hypertension. In addition to being hot, the fruits of this plant have a pleasant fruity taste, so a small amount of pepper added to the dish will give it both spiciness and piquancy.
- Carolina Reaper - originally from South Carolina, has an indicator of 2.2 million units. He has firmly held the honorary first place in the Guinness Book since 2013.
These are really the sharpest peppers in the world, so you need to be careful with them.
The benefits of hot pepper
Thanks to capsaicin, an alkaloid in the burning pods, they can cleanse blood vessels, "kill" cancer cells or prevent their appearance. It is useful for people with metabolic disorders and overweight, as it helps the absorption of food.
The variety most demanded among summer residents is “adjika” pepper. Its elongated pods with juicy and fragrant flesh go not only to prepare the sauce of the same name, but also give a spicy taste to any dish.