Olivia
Chilli Peppers (Solanaceae)
The World’s Hottest Chilli Peppers
Our Quest for the Perfect Chilli Pepper
Fun fact!
Do you know what the hottest chilli is in the world?
Most would say the’’ Red Savina Habanero’ while others will argue it is the ‘Jalapeno’.
But the first prize actually goes to the ‘The Naga Morich’, a rare Bangladeshi treat also known as ‘the serpent chilli.’
However, you cannot eat the Naga as it has been measured to have a Scoville Heat Unit of 1, 598, 227 SHUs. It is a rare breed and is rubbed into ingredients to add flavour but never cooked whole or in pieces.
However, in recent times the Naga has taken the West by storm creating a demand for the bottled recipes ranging from the original taste to one that is likened to snake venom!
Hot Sauce blogs were thrilled by this new introduction and the ‘Naga Morich hot sauce’ made waves in the media through Northern Echo, Daily Star, London Metro and HDTV. Hot sauce blogs have been raving about the product like this review quote from hotzoneonline.com: "The heat just kept pounding me and pounding me and by the time I was finished tears were streaming down my now red face. Taste: 9, Heat: 9.978”
The Guinness Book of Records lists the Naga in its Hottest Chilli Peppers section alongside other chilli varieties such as the ‘Red Savina’, the ‘Bhut Jolokia’ and the ‘Dorset Naga’.
The quest for inventing and finding hotter chilli peppers has become an obsession to most and inspiration to exotic food lovers everywhere. Growing the right chilli pepper to please these exotic palate demands has also become a worthy cause.
Plant part used
Harvest fruits or berries which are called pods, when ripened or unripe. A lesser pungent spice will result if the seeds and veins are removed. Leaves are used in cooking.
Plant family
Solanaceae (nightshade family).
Sensory quality
Generally Chiles can be pungent and quite hot. When you are accustomed to the fiery pungency, it is surprising to find the many subtle flavours: Fruity, fresh and flowery, smoky, earthy and sweet, are just some of them. The highest range of chilli tastes originates in México famous for their use in Mexican cuisine. Some are considered as “five-alarm” peppers while some are just mildly hot.
The degree of heat is commonly measured by a rating created by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, known as Scoville Heat Units (SHU) scale. While the sweet varieties rate zero, the hot varieties can top over 60,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
A mechanism known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test is used to check the Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The extract of the chillie pepper to be tested is diluted with a sugar-water solution to define the spiciness (capsaicin), the more sugar water is used to suppress the fiery heat, which determines the heat of the chillies.
How to grow your own Chilli peppers
Chillies can be grown using Hydroponics which is growing plants without a soil-based medium, but in order to understand, you must first know how to grow chillies the traditional way.
Growing your own chilli peppers is advisable whether you are a lover of spices or if you are not, simply because it will add some flavour to your meals and have lots of health benefits.
You do not have to be an expert to grow chillies as they are notoriously easy to handle, but before you rush to begin your own chilli garden you will need to prepare for it.
- Learn what sort of conditions are required for a particular breed of chilli pepper, before purchase and arrange the environment to suit it. It is advisable to purchase plastic pots as opposed to clay as chilli peppers require a lot of moisture to grow.
- Sterilise your pot so that there is a significantly smaller chance of your veggies succumbing to bacterial diseases and choose a pot that contains a hole for draining out the excess water.
- The soil you pick to fill your pot must be of good quality. Visit a shop that sells gardening tools and ask around before you make your choice.
- Before you plant the chilli seeds, soak them on a wet tissue and seal them in a container that is airtight, such as a zip bag for storage in a place with a warm temperature. If the seeds have swelled up after you leave them for a while, then it is time to plant.
- When planting, you should ensure that approximately three centimetres of space must be left between the pot’s rim and the filled in soil, and a five-centimetre distance between seeds.
- Spray with a little water and add a little fertilizer over the pot and leave it in a place where the seedlings will get plenty of sunshine.
- Harvest!
Origin
Diverse varieties of bell peppers were grown in America long before the Europeans arrived. However, their native countries cannot be identifiably determined. South American origin was recognised for all species of the genus Capsicum, which developed perhaps in the area neighbouring Southern Brazil and Bolivia from where the types of chillies moved North, being mostly dispersed by birds.
Main constituents
· Capsaicin is contained from as low as 0.001 to 0.005% in mild and 0.1% in hot cultivars.
· Essential oil (
· Ripe paprika contains up to 6% sugar.
· Vitamin C (0.1%) this substance was first isolated by the Hungarian chemist Albert Szent-György, from ripe paprika pods who later won the Nobel Prize for this work.
- Colour is derived in the ripe state mainly from carotenoid pigments, ranging from bright red (capsanthrine, capsorubin and more) to yellow (cucubitene); total carotenoid content in dried paprika is 0.1 to 0.5%.
- Chile cultivars that produce yellow but no or little red pigments appear yellow to orange when ripe. A small number of cultivars do not produce significant amounts of carotenoids; when chlorophyll levels decreases in the last stages of ripening, these chillies develop a pale hue often referred to as white. Due to small amounts of chlorophyll and/or yellow carotenoids, the white is, however, more precisely described as a pale greenish-yellow.
- Black Prince, an ornamental breed rich in anthocyanin pigments (tepín- or piquín type).
Some varieties of paprika contain the pigment of anthocyanin and change to dark purple, aubergine-coloured or almost black pods in the last stage of their ripening, however, the anthocyanins get lost, and the unusual darkness thus gives way to normal orange or red colours. It is the same anthocyanin that causes the dark spots which are occasionally seen on immature fruits or mainly the stems of paprika plants. Anthocyanin production is a rare occurrence In other Capsicum species.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Capsiceae
Genus: Capsicum
L.
Oleoresin Capsicum
An oily resin, Oleoresin Capsicum is derived from Capsicums. It is composed of many associated compounds. Many species fall within the genus Capsicum. Capsaicinoids are the active ingredients of Oleoresin Capsicum OC. The active compounds are found in the endocrine products of the plant’s placenta and isolated through volatile solvent extraction of the ripe dried fruits.
Among the health issues that are caused by Capsaicinoids are nasal, ocular, gastrointestinal, dermatitis as well as pulmonary, problems affecting humans. It is also used as a defensive weapon by civilians and law enforcement organizations as it produces immediate, but temporary immobilization and incapacitation when it is sprayed directly into the face or eyes by the use of hand-held pepper spray formulations which can contain Oleoresin Capsicum OC by themselves or a mixture of OC and CS.
1. A Few Pepper Varieties – Sweet & Hot -
2. Scoville Heat Units (SHU) scale 0–100,000
3. Asian chilli peppers – generally hot and spicy
4. Bell peppers – red, green, yellow and orange mild and sweet
5. Birds eye – red, green and white varieties also called Thai chillies
6. Chillie peppers – can mean any number of varieties
7. capsicum chinense – many varieties such as Scotch Bonnet and recently developed serpent varieties
8. cayenne pepper – both sweet and hot
9. Hungarian wax – usually a light green pepper from mildly hot to hot
10. Hatch chile – Capsicum varieties grown in the Hatch Valley, New Mexico, conveys a unique quality that is specific to that growing area
11. Habaneros – Hot and about 2-6 cms. Colour can vary from orange and red, but can also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple.
12. Jalapeños – belongs to the variety Capsicum annuum, about 5–10 cm hangs down, is round, firm, smooth flesh of 25–38 mm wide hangs down, is round, firm, smooth flesh 25–38 mm wide-ranging in spiciness measures about 3,500 to 8,000 SHU
13. Pimentos – usually, a large heart-shaped pepper and can refer to any type
14. Paprika- sweet and hot varieties of the Anaheim variety
15. Poblano – similar to Hungarian wax
16. Pueblo chile –grown for centuries by the Puebloan people of New Mexico
17. Acoma Pueblo – it is a New Mexican mild chile variety, with a lightly tangy spiciness
18. Isleta Pueblo chile – New Mexican variety which develops into a fruity sweet flavour as it ripens
19. Santa Fe Grandes – New Mexico
20. Zia Pueblo chile – New Mexican variety which develops to a bitter-sweet flavour as it matures
Peppers, Hot Chilli, Red, Raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy
166 kJ (40 kcal)
Carbohydrates
8.8 g
- Sugars
5.3 g
- Dietary fibre
1.5 g
Fat
0.4 g
Protein
1.9 g
Water
88 g
Vitamin A Equiv.
48 μg (6%)
- beta-carotene
534 μg (5%)
Vitamin B6
0.51 mg (39%)
Vitamin C
144 mg (173%)
Iron
1 mg (8%)
Magnesium
23 mg (6%)
Potassium
322 mg (7%)
Capsaicin
0.01g – 6 g
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database