Naga Jolokia pepper
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225101506
2008-07-11T21:52:49Z
Dblomgren
2335596
Remove Dorset Naga wikilinks.
{{Taxobox
| name = Bhut Jolokia
| image = Naga Jolokia Peppers.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Fresh Bhut Jolokia Peppers (whole and cut)
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| subclassis = [[Asteridae]]
| ordo = [[Solanales]]
| familia = [[Solanaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Capsicum]]''
| species = ''[[Capsicum chinense|C. chinense]]'' ''[[Capsicum frutescens|C. frutescens]]''
| subspecies = '''''C. c. ''[[cultivar]]'' Naga Jolokia'''''
| trinomial = ''Capsicum chinense'' 'Naga Jolokia'''
| trinomial_authority = <!-- unknown? -->
}}
{{Pepper
| boxwidth=262px
| image=Hottest-chili-rating.gif
| heat= Peak ([[Scoville scale|SR]]: 1,041,427)
}}The '''Bhut Jolokia''' (also known as '''Naga Jolokia''', '''Ghost Chili''', '''Ghost Pepper''', '''Naga Morich''') is a [[chili pepper]] that grows in [[Bangladesh]], northeastern India ([[Assam]], [[Nagaland]], and [[Manipur]]), and [[Sri Lanka]]. In 2006, it was confirmed by [[Guinness World Records]] to be the hottest chili in the world, displacing the [[Red Savina]]. Disagreement has arisen on whether it is a ''[[Capsicum frutescens]]'' or a ''[[Capsicum chinense]]''. The Indians claim it is a ''C. frutescens'',<ref name="currscience" /> but the derived cultivar Dorset Naga was assessed as a ''C. chinense''. Recent [[DNA]] tests have found both ''C. chinense'' and ''C. frutescens'' genes.<ref name="fiery-foods">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/sagajolokia.asp|title=Saga Jolokia - Searching for the new "World's Hottest Chile"|accessdate=2007-01-16|year=2007|author=Harald Zoschke, Dave DeWitt, Dr Paul Bosland|format=html}}</ref>
==Nomenclature==
It is also called '''Bih Jolokia''' in some places of Assam (''Bih'' = 'poison', ''Jolokia'' = 'chili pepper'; in [[Assamese language|Assamese]]). Other names are '''Bhut Jolokia''' (''Bhut'' = 'ghost', probably due to its ghostly bite or introduction by the [[Bhutia]]s from Bhutan poison chili), '''Oo-Morok''' in Manipur (''Oo'' = 'Tree', 'Oo' pronounced as in ''Book'', ''Morok'' = 'Chilli'), '''Borbih Jolokia''', '''Nagahari''', '''Nagajolokia''', '''Naga Morich''', '''Naga Moresh''' and '''Raja Mirchi''' ('King of Chillies'). Regardless of the nomenclature, they all refer to the same plant. The word ''Naga'', meaning "cobra snake" in [[Sanskrit]], stems from [[Nagaland]] and the [[Naga people|Naga Community]].
Ripe Bhuts measure {{convert|60|mm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|85|mm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|25|mm|abbr=on|sigfig=0.1}} to {{convert|30|mm|abbr=on}} wide with an orange or red color. They are similar in appearance to the [[Habanero]] pepper, but have a rougher, dented skin—a main characteristic of the Naga.<ref name="NatGeo May 07">{{Citation
| last = Barker
| first = Catherine L.
| author-link =
| year = 2007
| title = Hot Pod: World's Hottest Chilies
| periodical = [[National Geographic Magazine]]
| volume = 2007
| issue = May
| pages = 21
| url =
}}</ref>
==Scoville rating==
In 2000, scientists at India's ''Defence Research Laboratory (DRL)'' reported a rating of 855,000 units on the [[Scoville scale]],<ref name="currscience">{{cite journal | author=Mathur R, et al| title=The hottest chili variety in India| journal=Current Science| year=2000| volume=79| issue=3| url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug102000/scr974.pdf| pages=287–8}}</ref><ref name="drl">{{Cite web|url=http://www.drdo.org/labs/dls/drl/achieve.shtml|title=Indian Defence Research Laboratory|accessdate=2006-12-12|year=2006|format=html}}</ref> and in 2004 an Indian export company called ''Frontal Agritech'' obtained a rating of 1,041,427 units,<ref name="fa">Scoville rating was obtained through [[HPLC]] analysis, unpublished claim. {{Cite web|url=http://www.frontalagritech.co.in/products/bihjolokia_gen.htm|title=Bih jolokia|accessdate=2006-12-12|year=2006|format=html}}</ref> which would mean it is almost twice as hot as the [[Red Savina pepper]] and roughly equal to the similar-looking Dorset Naga,<ref>Dorset Naga was developed as a hybrid of Naga Morich (another name for Naga Jolokia) by a couple in [[Dorset]], [[England]].</ref> which is derived from the Naga Morich. For comparison, pure [[capsaicin]] rates at 15,000,000–16,000,000 Scoville units.
In 2005 at [[New Mexico State University]] Chile Pepper Institute near [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], Regents Professor Paul Bosland found Naga Jolokia grown from seed in southern New Mexico to have a Scoville rating of 1,001,304 SHU by HPLC.<ref name="fiery-foods" /><ref name="bosland">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Releases/2007/february/hottest_chile.htm|title=NMSU is home to the world’s hottest chile pepper|accessdate=2007-02-21|year=2007|author=Shaline L. Lopez|format=html}}</ref>
In February 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Bhut Jolokia (Prof. Bosland's preferred name for the pepper) as the world's hottest chili pepper.<ref name="bosland" /><ref name="guinness">{{Cite web|url=http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14391202|title=Indian chilli world's hottest: Guinness|accessdate=2007-02-18|year=2007|format=html}}</ref>
The effect of [[climate]] on the Scoville rating of Bhut Jolokia peppers is dramatic. A 2005 Indian study that compared the percentage availability of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in Bhut Jolokia peppers grown in both [[Tezpur]] (Assam) and [[Gwalior]] ([[Madhya Pradesh]]) showed that the heat of the pepper is decreased by over 50% in Gwalior's more arid climate (similar temperatures but less humid, much lower rainfall).<ref name="currscience2">{{cite journal | author=Tiwari A, et al| title=Adaptability and production of hottest chili variety under Gwalior climatic conditions| journal=Current Science| year=2005| volume=88| issue=10| url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/may252005/1545.pdf| pages=1545–6}}</ref>
==Dorset Naga cultivar ==
[[Image:Dorset Naga Peppers.jpg|left|thumb|120px|Dorset Naga peppers]]
The cultivar '''Dorset Naga pepper''' (cultivar status in process) is grown in [[West Bexington]], Dorset, England.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/01/nchilli01.xml |title = Dorset claims world's hottest chilli | publisher = Daily Telegraph | date = [[2006-04-01]] |accessdate = 2006-07-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2113507,00.html | title = The chilli so hot you need gloves | publisher = The Times | date = [[2006-04-01]] | accessdate = 2006-07-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/04/01/1528563.htm | title = Farmers claim to grow hottest chili | publisher = TMC.net | date = [[2006-04-01]] | accessdate = 2006-07-11 }}</ref> It was developed through simple plant selection by Michael and Joy Michaud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peppersbypost.biz/dorsetnaga/|accessdate=2006-05-06|title=Peppers by post: Dorset Naga}}</ref> Samples sent to two different [[United States|U.S.]] laboratories in early 2006 reported heat ratings of 876,000 and 970,000 [[Scoville scale|Scoville units]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peppersbypost.biz/dorsetnaga/Biolabs.pdf|title=Laboratory testing certificate from Southwest Bio-Labs|date=[[2006-02-27]]|accessdate=2006-05-06|format=pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peppersbypost.biz/dorsetnaga/Certified_Lab_Certificate.pdf|title=Laboratory testing certificate from Certified Laboratories|date=[[2006-01-12]]|accessdate=2006-05-06|format=pdf}}</ref>
{{clear}}
In 2006 the BBC “Gardeners’ World” ran a chilli trial looking at several varieties, including Dorset Naga. Heat levels were tested in a British laboratory and the Dorset Naga came in at just under 1.6 million SHU.
==Characteristics==
<div align="center"><table><tr><td>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
! Plant height
| 45-120 cm
|-
! Stem color
| Green
|-
! Leaf color
| Green
|-
! Leaf length
| 10.65-14.25 cm
|-
! Leaf width
| 5.4-7.5 cm
|-
! Pedicels/axil
| 2
|-
! Corolla color
| Yellow green
|-
! Anther color
| Pale blue
|-
! Annular constriction
| Present below calyx
|-
! Fruit color at maturity
| Red
|-
|}
</td><td>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
! Fruit shape
| Sub-conical to conical
|-
! Fruit length
| 5.95-8.54 cm
|-
! Fruit width at shoulder
| 2.5-2.95 cm
|-
! Fruit weight
| 6.95-8.97 g
|-
! Fruit surface
| Rough, uneven
|-
! Seed color
| Light brown
|-
! 1000 seed weight
| 0.41-0.46 g
|-
! Seeds/fruit
| 19.22-34.15
|-
! Hypocotyl color
| Green
|-
! Cotyledonous leaf shape
| Deltoid
|}
</td></tr></table></div>
== Uses ==
The pepper is used as a spice in food or eaten alone. One seed from a Bhut Jolokia can produce sustained intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Extreme care should be taken when ingesting the pepper and its seeds, so as to not get it in the eyes. It is used as a cure for stomach ailments. It is also used as a remedy to summer heat, presumably by inducing perspiration. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20058096/|title=‘Ghost chili’ burns away stomach ills - Diet & Nutrition - MSNBC.com:|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Associated Press|year=2007|format=html}}</ref> In northeastern India the peppers are smeared on fences or used in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Hussain
| first = Wasbir
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = World's Hottest Chili Used as Elephant Repellent
| work =
| publisher = National Geographic
| date = 2007-11-20
| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071120-AP-india-elephants.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-11-21 }}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Chili peppers]]
[[Category:Tezpur]]
[[Category:Guinness World Record holders]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
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