Naga Jolokia pepper
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| iNaga Jolokia | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Image:2006 10 11 Naga Jolokia Tezpur.jpg Fresh Naga Jolokia Peppers (whole and cut)
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| Capsicum chinense 'Naga Jolokia' |
| Image:Hottest-chili-rating.gif |
| Heat : Peak (SR: 1,041,427) |
The Naga Jolokia pepper is a chili pepper found naturally in the army garrison town of Tezpur, in the north-eastern state of Assam, India. More generally, it can be found in the whole of NE India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur as well as the adjacent Bangladesh. It is a naturally occurring chili and is reputed to be the hottest in the world. It is sometimes incorrectly claimed to be a Capsicum frutescens but most experts agree that it is a Capsicum chinense.
It is also called Bih Jolokia in some places of Assam (Bih = Poison, Jolokia = chilli pepper; in Assamese). Other names are Bhut jolokia, Borbih jolokia, Nagahari, Nagajolokia, Naga Morich, Naga Moresh and Raja mirchi.
When ripe it measures 60mm - 85mm long and 25mm - 30mm wide with an orange or red color, similar in appearance to the Habanero pepper.
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[edit] Scoville rating
In 2000, scientists at India's Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) reported a rating of 855,000 units<ref name=SP>Hottest Chili in the World Current Science 2000 79:287-8 (Das SC, India's Defence Research Laboratory DRL, Tezpur, India)</ref> on the Scoville scale, and in 2004 an Indian export company called Frontal Agritech obtained a rating of 1,041,427 units (through HPLC analysis, unpublished claim), which would mean it is hotter than the hybrid cultivar Red Savina pepper and the newly emerging, and very similar-looking, Dorset Naga, developed as a hybrid of Naga Morich (another name for Naga Jolokia) by a couple in Dorset, England.
For comparison, pure capsaicin rates at 15,000,000–16,000,000 Scoville units.
[edit] Some morphological characteristics
| Plant height | 45-120 cm |
| Stem color | Green |
| Leaf color | Green |
| Leaf length | 10.65-14.25 cm |
| Leaf width | 5.4-7.5 cm |
| Pedicels/axil | 2 |
| Corolla color | Yellow green |
| Anther color | Pale blue |
| Annular constriction | Present below calyx |
| Fruit color at maturity | Red |
| Fruit shape | Sub-conical to conical |
| Fruit length | 5.95-8.54 cm |
| Fruit width at shoulder | 2.5-2.95 cm |
| Fruit weight | 6.95-8.97 g |
| Fruit surface | Rough, uneven |
| Seed color | Light brown |
| 1000 seed weight | 0.41-0.46 g |
| Seeds/fruit | 19.22-34.15 |
| Hypocotyl color | Green |
| Cotyledonous leaf shape | Deltoid |
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Picture of Bih Jolokia
- Morphological Characteristics of Naga Jolokia
- Report from Indian journal "Current Science"
- "The Hottest Chili in the World" CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 79, NO. 3, 10 AUGUST 2000
- Adaptability and production of hottest chilli variety under Gwalior agro-climatic conditions, CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 88, NO. 10, 25 MAY 2005de:Naga Jolokia
