From bell peppers to granddaddy of them all, the mighty Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, people have been eating this fiery stuff for a long time. Used as a condiment, ingredient, or a main meal, hot peppers tend to bring out the appetite.
And even though they may sting a little or a lot, people keep begging for more. There is something about this stuff that causes people to get addicted to it. Hot peppers are the one thing that I know of that can cause pain. And yet people ask for more and more, and to some the more the heat the better it gets.
Depending on how much heat you can take, we are going to discuss which pepper you probably want and which one you definitely need to stay away from. Chili peppers contains a substance called “Capsaicin” which is the active component in chili peppers and is also responsible for the burning or stinging sensation you receive every time you bite into one of these fiery treats.
Back in 1912 Wilbur Scoville came up with the Scoville scale which determines how hot certain chili peppers are. Most chili peppers have a scale of 0-5, with five being the hottest.
The popular ones here in the U.S. are the Jalapeno-012345, Serrano-012345, and the Habanero-012345 peppers. In the Philippines, the one that they fear the most are the Thai-peppers-012345 (Siling Labuyo). People know these peppers because of their fiery characteristics.
So what’s causing people to keep asking for more? Each time you bite into these peppers Capsaicin is released and immediately starts to cause burning sensation in your mouth or whatever else it touches. As soon as our brain detects the pain, it releases an “Endorphin” which is a natural pain killer the human body produces.
I have read where people have said that this is what causes the addiction to peppers, whether it is true or not I don’t know. The peppers I mentioned above use a scale from 0-5, but for some peppers five is not high enough so they are using a scale from 0-10, such as the Naga Jolokia-012345678910. Below is a chart of the world’s hottest peppers measured in Scoville units.
List of peppers in the world
| Pure capsaicin | 15,000,000 – 16,000,000 |
| Nordihydrocapsaicin | 9,100,000 |
| Standard US Grade pepper spray | 2,000,000 – 5,300,000 |
| Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper** | 500,000-1,463,700 |
| Naga Jolokia or Ghost Pepper | 855,000 – 1,001,304 |
| Dorset Naga | 876,000 – 970,000 |
| Red Savina Habanero | 350,000 – 577,000 |
| Habanero Chile | 100,000 – 350,000 |
| Scotch Bonnet | 100,000 – 350,000 |
| Jamaican Hot Pepper | 100,000 – 200,000 |
| Thai-pepper | 50,000 – 100,000 |
| Cayenne, Aja, Tabasco | 30,000 – 50,000 |
| Serrano Pepper | 23,000 |
| Tabasco Sauce (Habanero) | 10,000 |
| Wax Pepper | 7,000 – 8,000 |
| Jalapeno Pepper | 5,000 – 10,000 |
| Tabasco Sauce (Tabasco pepper) | 2,500 – 8,000 |
| Rocotillo Pepper | 2,500 – 5,000 |
| Poblano Pepper | 1,500 – 2,500 |
| Tabasco Sauce (Green Pepper) | 1,000 – 1,500 |
| Anaheim pepper | 500 – 1000 |
| Pimento, Pepperoncini | 100 – 500 |
| Bell pepper | 0 – No heat |
In the Philippines the Bicolano’s are known for their fiery obsessions. To some, Bicolano’s eating Thai-peppers are like eating pimento’s. But even they will think twice before attempting to eat some of these peppers that rank five and above. This is definitely not for people who have a weak stomach.
If you eat one of the peppers that are way out of your limit you can use milk to wash away the Capsaicin, but don’t think that it will go away in an instant. You will just have to wait until the pain goes away. Even Endorphins are not good enough to take the pain away you would more likely need Morphine.
Milk is the second best way to break down the Capsaicin. The best way is not to eat the peppers that are out of your limit. A piece of friendly advice, don’t try to challenge some of these peppers.
You will likely regret it dearly. Remember knowing which pepper to use and which pepper to stay away from will save you a lot of tears and severe pain in the future.
Facts:
Pure Capsaicin is odorless and colorless.
**The hottest chilli is the Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” which was grown by The Chilli Factory (Australia) and rated at 1,463,700 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) according to tests conducted by EML Consulting Services in Morisset, New South Wales, Australia, on 1 March 2011.
Source: Guinness World Record
Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T”
Note: This post is updated July 14, 2013
Posted in 
nice post, ty for sharing 😀
the last picture you posted is a pod of a naga morich pepper plant. a cousin to the bhut jolokia, but not the real thing.
i grow a lot of these super hot varieties. check my blogs if you’d like. i’m a member of a hot pepper forum and have traded with lots of people from all over the world for seeds.