The sharpest peppers in the world: rating, description of varieties

Food with peppercorns attracts gourmets because at the dish, in which added pungent pepper, a more vivid taste and aroma. In the usual kitchen, the mistress often has 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 for cooking dishes in restaurants, others for sauces, and others - as components of combat and protective weapons.

Pepper story

Thank for the emergence of a burning culture in Europe follows Columbus, who first brought this plant from one of his travels. Homeland of fragrant black pepper is considered to be India, whereas the real sharp varieties of this plant grew in South America, and by the time the great seafarer discovered the New World, his native population had already "domesticated" several of them.

Soon a triumphant procession of burning fruits began all over the world. Their benefits were written by doctors who made pepper tinctures and bandages. Cooks with the help of sharp additives changed the taste of long familiar dishes and created new recipes.

A century after Columbus' trip in the kitchen gardens and in greenhouses, domesticated pepper varieties grew in different countries . In Russia, the species of chili was brought in the 18th century, but by that time it was already well-known not only in Europe, but also in the countries of the east.

Grades - "millionaires"

Once a scientist from America, Wilbur Scoville decided to establish the severity of different varieties of pepper, for which the tasters were invited. Their job was to try the pods after a sip of water with sugar. The intensity of the sensations of the tasters was the basis of his first scale.

With the progress and development of the chemical industry, it became possible to determine the world's most peppery peppers by laboratory means. The new scale was named after Scoville, thus immortalizing his name. There are varieties that slightly bitter, but there are also those that make a person experience very unpleasant sensations, or he can even get burned.

A truly "vigorous" is considered to be fruit, whose sharpness exceeds the Scoville scale mark by 1 million. These include:

• Trinidad Scorpion CARDI is a variety bred by breeders of the Caribbean Agricultural Institute of Trinidad. The name "scorpion", a given series of these plants, suits him very well, since the shape of its tip reminds a sting, and the sharpness is simply incredible. The fruits of this pepper are not used for food, as it should be collected and processed in protective clothing and gloves. From him in Trinidad do chemical weapons - tear gas. To date, it is considered one of the most dangerous among peppers that have a figure of 1 million Scoville.

• Naga Morich - leads its "pedigree" from the northern part of India and Bangladesh. The indigenous population of these countries, knowing about the insidious burning properties of the fruits of this plant, use it for food in an immature form. Gourmets, who can feel not only the sharpness, but also the taste of pepper, claim that he has a fruity, close to the orange and pineapple.
• "Bhut Djolokiya" is a millionaire who was in 2011 in the Guinness Book of Records, in the category "the sharpest peppers in the world". This variety appeared naturally, and its burning is directly related to where it grows. The homeland of the most "killer" - northeast of India, while in the central part of the country it is completely harmless. The government of the state allowed the use of "bhut dzholokiya" in tear-grenades to disperse the hooligans.
• "Bhut dzholokiya chocolate" is as well known as its red fellow, but in nature it is extremely rare, so it is grown on plantations, but used to prepare curry dishes.

Not all varieties of hot pepper, as it turns 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 derived by crossing different species in laboratories. Do not escape this and hybrid varieties of pepper.

• 7 Pot Chili - originally from Trinidad, and he got his name thanks to the proverb of the Jamaicans, that one fruit is enough for seven pots of food to pepper the dish and give it a fragrance.

• Gibralta is related to Spain, since now it is his homeland, but he was created in the laboratory of England. To the plant justified its sharpness, it creates extreme conditions for growth - high air temperature in enclosed spaces. It can not be found in the kitchen of the Spanish, but it is supplied to restaurants for cooking traditional dishes.
• Infinity chili has 1,176,182 units and was artificially manufactured in the UK, a country where there are no traditionally sharp dishes. This red hot pepper is completely unattractive in appearance, but true gourmets love it.
• Naga Viper was bred by breeder Gerald Fowler and crossed 3 different varieties of peppers. In order to grow it, you should always buy seeds, as with each new generation its properties are reduced. To purchase a planting material you need to enroll in the queue, since the fans are so "sharp" is a lot around the world.

Such sorts of pepper should be used very carefully when preparing dishes and follow the dosage according to the prescription.

Grades more than 1.5 million

Sorts that have crossed the indicator of 1.5 million units on the Scoville scale are not so many. Among them:

• Trinidad Scorpion Butch T - the Guinness Book of Records in 2011. You have to be really extreme to add it to your food. The cook needs protective clothing, a mask and double latex gloves. If the pepper gets on the skin, then except for burning, a person gets numbness in this place for a couple of days.
• 7 Pot Douglah is a kind of "chocolate" pepper, but with a mark of 1.8 million on the scale. Strangely enough, but this hybrid variety has fans who claim that it is the most juicy, fragrant and hot chili pepper.

To such experiments, breeders should be treated with extreme caution, since one can get health problems for life.

Varieties with 2 million units

In the rating "the sharpest peppers in the world" there are 2 varieties that crossed the 2 million mark on the Scoville 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 hypertonics. In addition to the stinging, the fruits of this plant have a pleasant fruit taste, so a small amount of pepper added to the dish will give it both spice and piquancy.
• Carolina Reaper - originally from South Carolina, has an indicator of 2.2 million units. He firmly holds an honorable first place in the Guinness Book from 2013.

These are really the sharpest peppers in the world, so treat them with caution.

Benefit of hot pepper

Thanks to the capsaicin, located in the burning pods, they can clean the vessels, "kill" cancer cells or prevent their appearance. It is useful to eat people with disrupted metabolism and excessive body weight, as it promotes the assimilation of food.

The most popular variety of gardeners is pepper "adjika". Its elongated pods with juicy and fragrant flesh go not only for the preparation of the same sauce, but also add a piquant taste to any dish.