"Rich McCormack" wrote in message
m...

W. Watson wrote:

I vaguely recall some years ago, a book devoted to the hottest form of
the substance that makes peppers hot. The author had a numeric scale to
rate the hotness and in what foods the substance was found it. One was
incredibly far ahead of the others.


Capsaicin is the substance. Wilbur Scoville is the inventor of the
scale. At 350,000 to 570,000 Scoville Units, the Red Savina Habanero
is considered the hottest chile (for comparison: jalapenos range from
2,500 to 5,000, cayenne from 30,000 to 50,000 and Scotch Bonnet from
150,000 to 325,000). There have been reports, none verified as yet
that I know of, of even hotter chiles being grown and used in Asia.
FWIW -- pure capsaicin is rated at 16,000,000 Scoville units.

I've had the hot habaneros in Mexico, and was duly impressed with their
heat. For example, a single one (about as big as a golf ball), if cut up and
put into a 5-gallon pail of beans, would make it so hot that only people
with a real affection for 'hot' foods would enjoy it and taste anything
except the burning. Most folks would find it as unpalatable as a spoonful of
tabasco.

Here in Congo they have a small red pepper called a pili-pili that they
slice up into tiny chunks, stir in some garlic and salt, and mix with a
pinch of palm oil. A single teaspoon of this sauce, if you could even get it
past your tongue, would probably put you in the hospital with stomach cramps
and possibly some sort of physical damage. Its very close to the habanero,
AFAICT.

--riverman