DJofSD
10-13-2011, 02:30 PM
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-chili-20111013,0,7468866.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MostEmailed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+E-mailed+Stories%29
The ghost chile in northeast India emerged from relative obscurity after the Chile Pepper Institute, at New Mexico State University, grew dozens of plants, used liquid chromatography to assess the capsaicinoids, or heat, molecules and submitted its findings to Guinness World Records in 2006, which certified it as the world's hottest.
The ghost chile clocks in at 1.1 million on the Scoville heat unit scale, a measure of spiciness, compared with the jalapeno's mere 5,000.
In March, a new chile was rated by Guinness as the world's hottest, the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T" out of Australia, at 1.4 million SHUs. That's about 40% hotter than ghost chiles. Though not yet produced commercially, it's already sparking trouble in chile-land, with suggestions of trickery and sleight of hand.
The ghost chile in northeast India emerged from relative obscurity after the Chile Pepper Institute, at New Mexico State University, grew dozens of plants, used liquid chromatography to assess the capsaicinoids, or heat, molecules and submitted its findings to Guinness World Records in 2006, which certified it as the world's hottest.
The ghost chile clocks in at 1.1 million on the Scoville heat unit scale, a measure of spiciness, compared with the jalapeno's mere 5,000.
In March, a new chile was rated by Guinness as the world's hottest, the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T" out of Australia, at 1.4 million SHUs. That's about 40% hotter than ghost chiles. Though not yet produced commercially, it's already sparking trouble in chile-land, with suggestions of trickery and sleight of hand.