The hottest peppers in the world

Bhut Jolokia, an Indian chili variety, has just been included in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most spicy chili.
Researchers at New Mexico State University have discovered the world's most spicy chili, called Bhut Jolokia.

This is a variation of the chili variety originating from Assam, India. Bhut Jolokia has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most spicy chilli, breaking the record of former champion, Red Savina peppers.

In some of the experiments that recreated Scoville's thermal units (SHUs), Bhut Jolokia achieved 1 million units of SHUs, almost double the number of units that the former champion, Red Savina pepper won ( 577,000 units).

Professor Paul Bosland, the chancellor director of the Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of New Mexico, collected these chili seeds when visiting India in 2001.

Bhut Jolokia, India's chili variety is considered the most spicy in the world (Photo: ScienceDaily)

Red Savina Chili - The world's most spicy chili champion in previous years (photo haikupoet.com)

Bosland cultivated the Bhut Jolokia chili in insect repellent nurseries for three years to get enough seeds, perfecting the required tests.

Mr. Bosland said: 'Bhut Jolokia' translates to 'chili peppers', a way to refer to the horrible spiciness of this chilli.

Bosland also added that the great heat concentration of Bhut Jolokia had an important impact on the food industry. It is an economical spice used in packaged foods.