Heated debate over world’s hottest chilli

8:36am Thursday 15th March 2007

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WHAT'S hot and what's not in the world of chillis is the subject of heated debate after the announcement that there's a new firecracker in town.

The New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute has certified the Bhut Jolokia or 'ghost chilli' from India as the hottest ever tested, knocking West Dorset-grown Dorset Naga off the top spot.

The ghost chilli tested at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) while the Dorset Naga tipped the scales at 923,000 when it was tested last year.

But Michael Michaud, of West Bexington, remains unconcerned by the coup - and is convinced they are genetically the same chilli. He said geographically the original chillis come from near each other and look the same.

He said: "How much heat do you want? I suppose we care, but it's all been a bit of fun -it's not world peace. It's just a bloody hot chilli and we are having fun with it. Ours could be just as hot this year or even hotter at 1.6 million, so what am I bothered about?

"We are not going to get into the race for the Moon on this, you know. It's the luck of the draw - the heat depends so much on the environmental conditions."

BBC gardener Monty Don had the Dorset Naga tested at Warwick last year but the Michauds thought the 1.6 million rating recorded was too high and did not shout about it - even after they went to talk to the man who tested it at Warwick.

"I am confident that it was over a million, but we are just a couple of guys who got lucky. It's a Bangladeshi chilli - I didn't discover anything. Let's put it in a broader context - at the end of the day it is not my chilli," he said.

"We did make selections and we made a more uniform population, but I didn't do anything magic."

The couple have said this year's crop will be tested for its heat rating - but only so wholesale clients who make sauces with the Naga know what they are dealing with.