Spicy food is popular all
over the
world. There is a great number of recipes,
cooking tips
and spicy
food restaurants, which offer various chili – from
the mild ones,
for those who are beginners at spice eating, to the hottest ones
–
for experienced chile-admires.
Unsophisticated spicy
food eaters
wonder how a little capsicum can be so hot. As a matter of fact chili
contains the substance called Capsaicin, a crystalline alkaloid,
which influences pain receptors giving to the brain the sensation of
heat. This very substance makes people turn pale, drives them to tears
and, despite that, is the essential part of tasty spicy food.
Capsaicin is unnaffected by cold and heat, so it doesn't lose its
qualities during cooking spicy food.
As Capsaicin, responsible for spicy food popularity, has
neither colour nor odour, its “heat index” can
be determined only in a laboratory and is measured in SHU –
Scoville Heat Unit, named after chemist Wilbur Scoville who invented
a special measuring instrument for different peppers in 1912. Thus
New Mexican and Pasilla are considered as “mild”
peppers, because
their SHU is 500-2 500. The well-known Jalapeno is
“medium”,
equaling 2 500-5 000 SHU, while the “hot” Cayenne
comes
practically to 50 000 SHU. The previous champion of this scale was
Habanero with its 200 000 - 577 000 SHU, but this record has been
recently broken.
In 2006 the Guinness Book of Records affirmed that Bhut
Jolokia,
discovered by Regent's Professor of New Mexico State University Paul
Bosland, is the hottest chile in the world. Its rating is 1 001 304
SHU,
nearly twice as hot as its predecessor – Habanero.
Bhut Jolokia was found in
India, the
greatest manufacturer of spice, famous for its delicious hot spicy
food. It took several years to test the plant, and finally
its
extreme qualities were confirmed. Bhut Jolokia takes its origins in
Assam, the north-eastern part of India. Its name means “ghost
chile”. Bosland supposes that the Hindus call Bhut Jolokia so
because “the chile is so hot, you give up the ghost when you
eat
it!” Anyway from now on Bhut Jolokia will become considerably
important for spicy food cooking. It is ideal for spice
manufacturers: pickled still green, after dehydration, Bhut Jolokia
can replace less hot spices like Jalapeno. Thanks to its
concentration this chili will cut down expenses and will become a
good seasoning to various spicy food.
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