Heating Up the Palate: The World’s Top 10 Spiciest Chili Peppers
Lift your Hand if you ever bet to be able to eat very spicy chili peppers without turning red or crying. And maybe you even won that bet, but did you ever think of which could be the spiciest peppers in the world, other than the ones you usually buy or your grannie makes?
Let’s begin by stating that these varieties are most likely not used in restaurants or our kitchen, as it would cause a rise in mortality rate. It’s nearly impossible to eat these spicy bombs and not suffocate instantly, obviously, our Sliced hot chili peppers in our products are of Apulian origin and not at these levels, which makes it a great spicy level to still enjoy your meal with that bit of kick.
But let’s start at the beginning.
Do you know that there is a scale that measures the pungency (spiciness or “heat”) levels of chili peppers? The pungency (spiciness or “heat”) levels of chili peppers are measured via the Scoville scale.
What is the Scoville scale? The Scoville scale, invented by Wilbur Scoville over 100 years ago, precisely in 1912, is the unity of measure (in SHU – Scoville Heat Units) of the pungency (spiciness or “heat”) levels of chili peppers. The chili peppers are fruits of the Capsicum family and contain some substances known as capsaicinoids, like the Capsaicin, for example, which stimulates the nerve endings that are situated underneath the tongue and communicate that sensation of heat or burning to the brain.
The Scoville Test The Scoville test was originally an organoleptic test, which was made by preparing an extract of the chili pepper, diluted in water and sugar until that burning sensation was not perceptible anymore.
Easily put, it was dependent on the sensibility of the test people.
Today, the methods are much more sophisticated, like the HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography, known as the “Gillette method”), which measures directly the amount of capsaicinoids without the sensibility of the human being.
The highest level of the scale is 16,000,000 SHU, which equals the pure capsaicin. The Scoville scale indicates the quantity of capsaicin within the chili peppers.
Now that we know how the pungency of chili peppers is measured, let’s find out which are the spiciest in the world.
The Top 10 of the Spiciest Peppers in the World: In decreasing order, we present you the most spicy peppers in the world, starting with our very own Italian chili pepper.
10. Red Hot Chili Pepper from Calabria Level of pungency: 30,000 SHU
9. Cayenne Pepper Level of pungency: 50,000 SHU
8. Manzano Rocoto Pepper Level of pungency: 75,000 SHU
7. Scotch Bonnet Pepper Level of pungency: 200,000 SHU
6. Habanero Pepper Level of pungency: 350,000 SHU
5. Habanero Red Savina Pepper Level of pungency: 850,000 SHU
4. Hot Pepper Bhut Jolokia Level of pungency: 970,000 SHU
3. Naga Morich Hot Chili Pepper Level of pungency: 1,000,000 SHU
2. Trinidad Moruga Level of pungency: 2,000,000 SHU
1. Carolina Reaper: The Hottest Chili in the World Level of pungency: 2,200,000 SHU
For a better overview, we created an infographic picturing the ranking of the 10 hottest chili peppers in the world, starting as a reference from the Calabrese Peperoncino, the most commonly used in Italy, up to the top, with the Carolina Reaper, bearing in mind that the data shows the peaks of certified values and not an average. The various hot peppers can vary their spiciness depending on the place of cultivation.
