Chili is universally known for its spicy taste. People are in a situation where they cannot eat non-spicy food. Chili came to India only in the 17th century. Before that we used black pepper for seasoning. Chili gives taste, smell and color to edible food we make. Chilli (Capsicum) is one of the most important vegetable crops. It is also called milakai and molakai in Tamil rural areas. It belongs to the plant family Solanaceae.
There are less than 10 species of pepper. But more than 50000 varieties are cultivated worldwide. There are also large chillies ranging from very small to 250 grams in weight. Chillies are available in different colors like red, yellow, green, white, purple, black. Apart from that, chillies are also available in various forms. From mild sweet chilies to very, very spicy chilies are cultivated. Some types of chili plants are grown indoors only for beauty. The surprising news is that there are wine-flavored chilies and ghee-smelling chilies.
Capsaicin is a chemical that gives chili peppers their pungency. It is an irritant to all mammals, including humans. Produces a sensation of irritation on any tissue. The spiciest part of chili is its seeds.
The Scoville heat units (SHU) method is used to determine the level of spicy taste in food items. This is called the Scoville scale. They measure the alkalinity of chillies and peppers in this way. Wilbur Scoville (1865-1942), an American scientist, measured the alkalinity in chilies in 1912. He added an unknown amount of sugar water to the chilli juice. Then he determined the amount of alkali with the amount of sugar water. It is called the Scoville scale. Currently, high performance liquid chromatography is used to measure alkali more accurately.
Chili also has a sweet taste. That is, alkalinity ranging from 0 to 1000 on the Scoville scale is called sweet. You can eat it as it is. Bell pepper, pimento, sweet banana, mexi bell pepper, and cherry chili are belongs to sweet chillies.
If the alkalinity is between 1000 and 3000, it is a moderately alkaline type of chili. Ancho, Pasilla, Espanola, Sandia, Cascabel etc. belong to this category. Alkalinity between 3000 and 6000 is called medium alkalinity. Examples of this include jalapeno and mirosol chilies.
Alkalinity between 5000 and 100000 is called spicy chili. Examples of hot chili peppers include serrano, cayenne, tabasco, piquin, and Thai chilies. Above this 100,000 to 300,000 alkalinity are called extra alkaline chilies. Habanero and Scotch Bonnet are extremely spicy peppers.
They are constantly discovering the hottest chilies in the world. High alkalinity is above 10 lakh scoville units. The hottest chili in the world is changing. Every year more and more spicy chilies are discovered.
The world's most alkaline chili varieties have been listed since the 1990s. In 2011, Bhut Jolokia was selected as the world's most spicy chili. Its alkalinity was over one million. It has a spicy capacity of 10 lakh 41 thousand 427 units (1,041,427). Never before has any chili reached this level of spiciness. So this chili got a place in the Guinness Book of Records. This chili is grown in the Indian state of Assam.
It is cultivated in parts of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Bangladesh. In 2012, Trinidad's Moruga Scorpion chili was awarded the title of the hottest chili in the world. It is called Ghee chili. Since then, from 2013 to 2019, Carolina Reaper has held the record for the hottest chili in the world.
Top 10 Hottest Chillies in the World:
The Trinidad moruga scorpion pepper has a ghee aroma. Adding a pinch of chilli to cooking will give the ghee aroma to the dish. That's why it got the name ghee chili. This chilli is grown in hilly regions like Yercaud, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Coonoor and Munnar of Indian areas. It is a cultivar of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion developed from Capsicum chinense. This ghee chilli is native to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago near the United States. It was first discovered here in Moruga district. That is why it was named Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. After that it spread all over the world for its alkaline nature and ghee smell.
This chili plant grows to a height of 4 to 5 feet. It will begin to bear fruit in three months. The flower is white in color. Chillies turn red when ripe. It contains vitamin C and a small amount of carotene. One plant can yield 1 to 3 kg of chillies. It gives good yield during rainy season. Fruiting is less in summer. Its lifespan is 2-3 years.
They take pride in growing ghee chili plants at home. It is used on the basis of one kilogram of dal per chilli. A small piece of chili is enough to make coconut chutney. Coconut chutney is amazing with ghee aroma. The alkalinity of ghee is 2009231 Scoville units. It ranks second globally in alkalinity. It is highly alkaline and is used as a cure for cancer.
