* {' E* w @$ E% u/ n, ?- b' F; NNMSU prof finds hottest chile pepper on record' N' s' M0 _9 S5 \- Y, B9 g2 Y
4 O. w$ L( t9 l1 B7 ELAS CRUCES -- Paul Bosland recalls taking a bite of a chili pepper and feeling as if he were breathing fire.! ^9 ~- k- n, a# b) Y
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He gulped down a soda, thinking, "That chile has got to be some kind of record." + Q" j7 Z5 A2 \# U6 x/ E* t+ x" D7 N, G& y% D. c9 ~7 V9 v# V8 Y$ B m
The Guinness Book of Records agreed, confirming recently that Bosland,a regents professor at New Mexico State University, had discovered the world'shottest chile pepper, Bhut Jolokia, a naturally occurring hybrid native tothe Assam region of northeastern India.2 R' P7 K# d: N0 f( y+ f" N4 ]
: N# c6 K$ U6 O" Q# @; gThe name translates as ghost chile, Bosland said. : S8 p+ A4 ^# Z# Y6 Q! m0 E" _, i7 X0 |0 A2 P
"We're not sure why they call it that, but I think it's because thechile is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it," he said. 3 d; v% y0 [' x( c7 i1 K' @& k1 { 0 O+ Z$ |* I1 D) a+ }8 j9 b Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, a measure ofhotness for a chile. It's nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the varietyit replaces as the hottest. [& d7 A& }* u- N. K# I 1 z9 j9 x3 I* M# Q+ Y. CBy comparison, a New Mexico green chile contains about 1,500 Scoville units; an average jalapeño measures about 10,000. , f& q. x0 }4 v2 i. j$ A: J$ q& K; j1 V" m0 b0 W: Z. `9 M) `; v
The Bhut Jolokia variety has potential as a food additive in the packagedfood industry, Bosland said. It could be pickled while green, dehydratedand used as seasoning. Because the heat is so concentrated, food manufacturerswould save money because they'd use less. # G% o, k' d4 K% p7 e! X# K" X8 J& f' _* h& p$ A0 {. D
"This isn't something you'd pickle whole and eat, but it could replace dehydrated jalapeño as an additive," Bosland said. ; x) ?! d, v$ b" X! v$ z% W6 o9 P1 g4 y5 ]) s
A member of NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute who was visiting India sentBhut Jolokia seeds to NMSU for testing in 2001. The plant doesn't producefruit easily, so it took a couple of years to get enough for field testing,Bosland said. - d1 n2 N- g( N7 Y* _ v6 g$ m2 b7 E6 X4 V0 N$ L: H
He then grew Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina and habañero peppers under controlledsettings and found that Bhut Jolokia had significantly higher Scoville ratings.Those findings were confirmed by two independent laboratories. 8 L/ v6 Y+ K0 W/ w8 [ A- x/ R% G ; ^' Q$ @. x9 y- R; x6 X+ x' cBhut Jolokia seeds are available through the Chile Pepper Institute.5 _. g4 I% |# w- u6 _# u
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In this photo released by New Mexico State University, Paul Bosland, a professor at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M., displays the official certificate received from the Guinness World Records organization that recognizes the Bhut Jolokia chile pepper as the world's hottest spice on Feb. 9, 2007. New Mexico State University is mentioned in the official entry as the location where the chile's heat index was measured. Bosland was responsible for locating the chile pepper, testing it, engineering it so it sets fruit better, and ultimately submitting his findings to Guinness for review. (AP Photo/New Mexico State University, Darren Phillips)3 w" l; p$ t" a6 d1 U/ L' l% p
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[ 本帖最后由 日月光 于 2007-2-18 12:55 编辑 ]
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