[CH] New Chile Discovery

Mark Ellis (mellis@gribbles.com.au)
Tue, 5 Sep 2000 11:22:10 +1000

Thought you might all find this interesting.

GUWAHATI - The hottest chili on earth is Indian.
Four Indian scientists have discovered that a type of chili grown in the
country's northeast has the highest Scoville units of pure capsaicin -- a
measure of hotness.
Called the Tezpur chili, after the area where it is grown, scientists say
the pepper has beaten Mexico's Red Savina Habanero, widely acclaimed as the
hottest chili in the world.
Tezpur lies on the banks of the river Brahmaputra about 112 miles from
Guwahati, the main city of Assam, which is better known for its flavorsome
tea than its chilis.
"The Tezpur chili was rated having 855,000 Scoville units... the Mexican
chili contained 557,000 Scoville units of pure capsaicin," one of the
scientists, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
The scientists work in defense laboratories in Guwahati and Gwalior.
The Scoville scale is named after German scientist Wilbur Scoville, the
first to measure the heat component in chili.
India is the world's top producer of chilis, exporting an estimated 35 tons
a year

Mark E. in Oz