Chile peppers belonging to the species C. chinense are considered as the hottest chile peppers in the world. Major members of this group include Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Carolina Reaper Peppers, and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers. Tabasco Peppers are also considered as hot chilies and they belong to the species C. frutescens. Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Peppers are also counted among one of the hottest chile peppers in the world.
Habanero Peppers: Habanero peppers are exceptionally hot and flavorful chile peppers and counted among the hottest chile peppers in the world. They are a group of Capsicum chinense chile peppers with a Scoville heat unit of 100,000 – 350,000 SHU. Ripe fruits, each of which measures about 2–6 cm long, turn from green to orange and red upon maturity. White, brown, yellow, or purple fruits are also common. Fruits are with thin and waxy flesh and are a popular ingredient in hot sauces and hot spicy foods.
Scotch Bonnet Peppers: Scotch bonnet peppers are highly pungent, very hot chile peppers that are native to the Caribbean Islands. They are a group of Capsicum chinese chile peppers and have a Scoville heat unit up to 3,25,000 SHU. Common names are bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers. Ripe fruits are with thin and waxy flesh and change from green to yellow to scarlet red upon maturity. Sweet varieties of Scotch bonnet peppers are called “cachucha peppers”.
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers: They are a group of Capsicum chinense chile peppers with a Scoville heat unit of more than 1.2 million SHUs. They are a native to the district of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the second-hottest chile peppers in the world, after “Carolina Reaper”.
Carolina Reaper Peppers: They are a group of exceptionally hot, Capsicum chinense chile peppers with a Scoville heat unit of 1,569,300 SHU or more. It is the hottest chile peppers in the world as on January 1, 2019. Ripe fruits are red and gnarled, with a small pointed tail.
Tabasco Peppers: Tabasco peppers are hot, small, juicy chile peppers which are used in making Tabasco sauce. They are a group of Capsicum frutescens chile peppers with a Scoville heat unit ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. Tabasco peppers have about 4 cm long fruits which are tapered and turn from yellowish-green colour to yellow and orange to bright red upon maturity. Tabasco fruits, like all other members of the C. frutescens species, grow erect on the shoots and remain so when mature, rather than hanging down from their stems like the fruits of other chile pepper plants.
Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Peppers: Ghost peppers are a group of exceptionally hot chile peppers with a Scoville scale of 1,041,427 SHU. They are a hybrid between C. chinense and C. frutescens and are a native to India. They were considered as the world’s hottest chile peppers once upon a time.
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