A Welsh farmer accidentally grew the world’s spiciest bell pepper

A plant breeder from Wales, while working on a new bell pepper variety to compete for the title of Plant of the Year at the famous Chelsea Flower Show, accidentally created the hottest pepper in the world – Dragon’s Breath.

Mike Smith, a Welsh plant breeder, próbated to create a new variety of peppers, especially for the famous Chelsea Flower Show held every year. And he created, but this is not what he had in mind. He intended the new variety to be a beautiful plant, whichóra will compete for Plant of the Year title. Instead, he grew the hottest pepper in the world. But the plant is also nice, although it can kill.

Until now, the title of the hottest bell pepper in the world belonged to a variety called Carolina Reaper bred by Ed Currie of South Carolina, USA. On the Scoville scale’a, whoóra is used to indicate the spiciness of a particular food product, it has a score of 1,569,300 SHU (Scoville Hotness Unit – Scoville spiciness unit’a). This scale was introduced by American chemist Wilbur Scoville’and in 1912. It determines the amount of capsaicin in a dish – substance that causes a feeling of spiciness.

Of course, the sensation of a sharp taste róThe room was hidden for 2000 yearsólnych waspsób. It may also depend on the conditionsóin serving dishes. But the Scoville scale’and it is considered the most authoritative.

Smith admitted that he was surprised when researchers ruled that his pepper had broken the record for spiciness, leaving its predecessor far behind. This was not his intention. Not even a fan of spicy food. He gave it the name Dragon’s Breath chili. Its Scoville score’and it’s 2,483,000 SHUs.

Smith grew the plant with a wspóworking with scientists from Nottingham Trent University. – SpróI blew my pepper by literally touching the tip of my tongue with it. I had the impression that mój tongue burning. I spit, but it didn’t help, the heat continued to build up – Smith said of the prób flavor of his creation.

Photo. Daily Post Wales

Experts say that anyone who sprówould swallow one of these peppers, he would be at risk of death from anaphylactic shock. In the Islands they now joke that Dragon’s Breath chili could serve as a new type of weapon or act as an alternative anesthetic in third world countries. There is a rationale for this, as capsaicin oil can lead to numbing. It offers potential as an anesthetic, especially in waspsób allergic to anti-bólowe. Anyway, eating spicy foods has many health benefits. For more on this topic, see Consumption of spicy foodsów prolongs life.

For the leekównania, peppercorns have between 100 and 500 SHU. The popular Jalapeno bell pepper has 2,500 to 8,000 SHU, while Tabasco has 30,000 to 50,000. Tear gas has between 5,000,000 and 5,300,000 SHU, while pure capsaicin has between 15,000,000 and 16,000,000 SHU.

The plant bred by Smith can still win this year’s title at the famous show, whichóra will be held next week. After the media hype, one can even venture to say that its chances have begun to increase. Surely the Guinness record is in his pocket.