Horizon：The hottest peppers around the world
【明報專訊】Can you eat spicy food? Here are the hottest peppers in the world which can make you blow fire!
Scoville heat units (SHU)
A measurement of the spiciness or ''heat'' of chili peppers.
◆Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
1,200,000 on average SHU
TRINIDAD MORUGA SCORPION which looks quite similar to the world champion Carolina Reaper except it does not have the curly tail. The origin of this kind of pepper is a country located in the Caribbean. This breed was comparatively recently discovered.
◆7 Pot
1,300,000 on average SHU
7POT does not look spicy because of its brown colour but it is indeed very hot. People say it has the best flavour among the hottest pepper breeds.
◆Naga Viper
900,000 to 1,382,118 on average SHU
NAGA VIPER is an incredibly rare breed which is cultivated in the United Kingdom. It is cultivated by mixing three hottest breeds together. It is also one of the world's hottest peppers. Originally, it held the record for the hottest pepper in the world but the record was beaten by other peppers later.
◆Carolina Reaper
1,569,300 on SHU
THE CAROLINA REAPER is the world champion. Its surface is not smooth at all. It has a unique tail so every pepper looks very different. Besides being extremely spicy, it gives a fruity flavor. In 2014, a man called Matt Gross broke a Guinness world record by just eating three Carolina Reapers. However, it took him about 14 hours to recover from the burning sensation in his mouth and stomach.
■Gear up
1. Every Carolina Reaper looks similar.
(True/False)
2. Which of the following is the spiciest?
A. Naga Viper
B. Carolina Reaper
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
breed (n) 品種
comparatively (adv) 比較地
cultivate (v) 栽培
sensation (n) 感覺
[Smarties' Power English 第302期]
