[KYHeirloomer]

I'm not convinced, Shel. Lot's of talk about the Dorset Naga, but nobody's actually seen it. Nor can anyone tell me who did the testing.

I am convinced, however, that there are many chilis found on the Indian subcontinent that 1. have not been tested, and which 2. are hotter than the Red Savina.

BTW, Red Savina is not, as is commonly said, "a form of habanero." Some people want to group all the C. chinense as habaneros. But the habs are identified by their unique pod shape.

Using chilis for culinary purposes can really get complicated. One of the problems is that we do not have a lexicon of commonly understood terms. If a wine lover says a particular brew is "fruity," every other wine lover knows what he means. But chiliheads lack that descriptive language. So communication gets hard.

Another problem is learning comparability. For instance, a chinchi uchu has about the same heat as a serrano. Knowing that, I can substitute one for the other, particularly if I want that underlying flavor of the chinchi uchu. Keep in mind, however, that a serrano is about the size of my index finger, while three chinchi uchu barely cover my thumbnail.

[shel]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

I am convinced, however, that there are many chilis found on the Indian subcontinent that 1. have not been tested, and which 2. are hotter than the Red Savina.

Using chilis for culinary purposes can really get complicated. One of the problems is that we do not have a lexicon of commonly understood terms. If a wine lover says a particular brew is "fruity," every other wine lover knows what he means. But chiliheads lack that descriptive language. So communication gets hard.

Another problem is learning comparability. For instance, a chinchi uchu has about the same heat as a serrano. Knowing that, I can substitute one for the other, particularly if I want that underlying flavor of the chinchi uchu. Keep in mind, however, that a serrano is about the size of my index finger, while three chinchi uchu barely cover my thumbnail.

I'd agree with the first comment 100%.

I'd also agree that nomenclature for chilies, as well as descriptive terms, is all over the place.

I used to know more about the various varieties, and cooked with a greater variety more often. I'm just starting to get back to using more chilies, and have started reading about them to come up to date and to better understand them again.

I've not yet found another good source for ordering a wide variety of chilies. The place I used to use seems to be out of business.

Shel

[KYHeirloomer]

Sorry, I can't help you with that. I mostly grow my own.

If you want sources for seeds and plants, I can give you recommendations.

[KYHeirloomer]

According to Ana Sortun, author of "Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterannian," (which, by the way, is an incredible book), Kalustyan's, in NY, is a good source of chilis and chili powders.

I went to their website, www.kalustyans.com, and they claim to have 30 types in stock.

So you might check them out.

[shel]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

According to Ana Sortun [...] Kalustyan's, in NY, is a good source of chilis and chili powders [...] www.kalustyans.com, and they claim to have 30 types in stock.

I went to the site, clicked on a couple of links, and found that they have no chilies or chili powders in stock Thanks, though, for posting the link.

Shel

[abefroman]

In Indian PC-1 pepper is the hotest. You can get the seeds here:
http://www.reimerseeds.com/indian-pc-1-hot-peppers.aspx

[KYHeirloomer]

Abefroman, note that the Reimer site says "said to be the hottest."

Who says so are the folks at Redwood City Seeds, who have touted the Indian PC-1 for years. However, they use their own hotness scale, different from Scoville Heat Units, which is the industry standard.

Trying to establish comparability between the Redwood City measuring system and SHUs, it is guessed that the PC-1 equals about 750,000 SHUs.

So, the PC-1 may, indeed, be the hotest pepper in the world. But so far it isn't accepted as such by most authorities.