Dragon's Breath (chili pepper)

Dragon's Breath
Species Capsicum chinense
Breeder Mike "The Dragon" Smith
Origin St Asaph, Wales
Heat Exceptionally hot
Scoville scale 2,480,000 reported SHU

Dragon's Breath is a chili pepper cultivar developed in St Asaph, Wales, in association with Nottingham Trent University. It has been tested at 2.48 million Scoville units, which would make it the hottest chilli on record, surpassing the Carolina Reaper.

Development

The chili plant was grown by Mike Smith, a grower in St. Asaph in Denbighshire, who said that he had not planned to break the record for chilli heat,[1] and was named Dragon's Breath for the Welsh dragon.[2] The plant belongs to Neal Price of ChilliBobs in Newark-on-Trent and was developed in association with a test of special plant food by NPK Technology and Nottingham Trent University.[2][3][4][5][6] It was entered in the Plant of the Year contest at the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show where it was on the short list but did not place.[1][4][7]

Heat

The chilis have been tested at 2.48 million Scoville units, more than the 2.2 million of the Carolina Reaper, the hottest previously known chilli.[3][5][6] Smith has applied to Guinness World Records for confirmation of the record.[1][3]

One person who tasted the pepper had a numb mouth for two days;[3] Nottingham Trent University researchers suggest that the pepper's ability to numb the skin might make it useful as an anaesthetic for patients who cannot tolerate other anaesthetics, or in countries where they are too expensive.[1][2][3] On the other hand, experts at the university warned that swallowing one might cause death by anaphylactic shock;[1][2][3] one science writer noted that this was a standard warning that applied only to those with relevant allergies.[6]

Name

The 'Dragon's Breath' was named after the Welsh dragon, due to the location of its creation.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Henry Bodkin (17 May 2017). "Hottest chilli pepper in the world accidentally created by Welsh farmer". The Telegraph.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Marc Waddington (17 May 2017) [16 May 2017]. "St Asaph man develops weapons-grade chilli so hot it could KILL you". Daily Post.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Isaac Ashe (21 May 2017). "World's hottest chilli developed in Notts will leave you breathing fire". Nottingham Post.
  4. 1 2 "'World's hottest' chilli pepper grown in St Asaph". BBC news North East Wales. 17 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 Shanika Gunaratna (22 May 2017). "The hottest pepper in the world? Beware the 'Dragon's Breath'". CBS news.
  6. 1 2 3 Jake Buehler (19 May 2017). "'World’s Hottest Pepper' Will Have You Breathing Fire, But It Won’t Kill You". Gizmodo.
  7. ↑ "Plant of the Year". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
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