http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/57132.html
Hot, hotter, hottest: NMSU sets Guinness chili record
In this photo released by New Mexico State University, Paul Bosland,
a professor at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M.,
displays the official certificate received from the Guinness World
Records organization that recognizes the Bhut Jolokia chile pepper as
the world's hottest spice on Feb. 9, 2007. New Mexico State
University is mentioned in the official entry as the location where
the chile's heat index was measured. Bosland was responsible for
locating the chile pepper, testing it, engineering it so it sets
fruit better, and ultimately submitting his findings to Guinness for
review. (AP Photo/New Mexico State University, Darren Phillips)
Related Links
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 16, 2007
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Paul Bosland recalls taking a bite of a chili
pepper and feeling like he was breathing fire.
He gulped down a soda, thinking, "That chili has got to be some kind
of record."
The Guinness Book of Records agreed, confirming recently that
Bosland, a regents professor at New Mexico State University, had
discovered the world's hottest chili pepper, Bhut Jolokia, a
naturally occurring hybrid native to the Assam region of northeastern India.
The name translates as ghost chili, Bosland said.
"We're not sure why they call it that, but I think it's because the
chili is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it," he said.
Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, a measure of
hotness for a chili. It's nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the
variety it replaces as the hottest.
By comparison, a New Mexico green chili contains about 1,500 Scoville
units; an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000.
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The Bhut Jolokia variety has potential as a food additive in the
packaged food industry, Bosland said. It could be pickled while
green, dehydrated and used as seasoning. Because the heat is so
concentrated, food manufacturers would save money because they'd use less.
"This isn't something you'd pickle whole and eat, but it could
replace dehydrated jalapeno as an additive," Bosland said.
A member of NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute who was visiting India sent
Bhut Jolokia seeds to NMSU for testing in 2001. The plant doesn't
produce fruit easily, so it took a couple of years to get enough for
field testing, Bosland said.
He then grew Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina and habanero peppers under
controlled settings and found that Bhut Jolokia had significantly
higher Scoville ratings. Those findings were confirmed by two
independent laboratories.
Bhut Jolokia seeds are available through the Chile Pepper Institute.
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