The Red Savina pepper is a
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
of the
habanero chili (''
Capsicum chinense
''Capsicum chinense'', commonly known as a "habanero-type pepper", is a species of chili pepper native to the Americas. ''C. chinense'' varieties are well known for their unique flavors and, in many cases, exceptional Pungency, heat. The Race to ...
'' Jacquin), which has been
selectively bred
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...
to produce spicier, heavier, and larger fruit, ultimately more potent than its derivative.
Frank Garcia of GNS Spices, in
Walnut, California
Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,430.
The greater Walnut Valley is located between the steep San Jose Hills to the nort ...
, is credited as the developer of the Red Savina, but the exact methodology that Garcia used to select the hottest breeding strains is not publicly known.
Description
The Red Savina typically measures 2 inches by 1.5 inches (5 x 3.5 cm),
and is described by cultivators as a "wrinkled" fruit with a "Chinese lantern" shape. Unlike a conventional orange habanero, the Red Savina is distinctively dark red, and may have been bred using spicy red mutations of habanero. Until 2011, it was protected by the U.S.
Plant Variety Protection Act (PVP #9200255).
Pungency
The Red Savina chili held the record as the hottest chili in the world according to the
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
from 1994-2006.
It was displaced by the
bhut jolokia chili (commonly and incorrectly translated to "Ghost Pepper") in February 2007.
Red Savina peppers were reported to allegedly score upwards of 577,000 on the
Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
The scale ...
, but this oft-quoted figure was never officially verified;
a group of researchers – including Regents Professor Paul W. Bosland at the Chile Pepper Institute at
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...
– conducted a comparison experiment in 2005, which revealed that the Red Savina habanero averages a relative heat level of 248,556 SHUs. The CPI lists the spiciest Red Savina individuals recorded in their labs as approximately 500,000 SHUs.
As a point of reference, the average orange habanero scores approximately 200,000 SHUs in high performance liquid
chromatography
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the Separation process, separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it ...
tests (although some individuals have achieved on the order of 357,729 SHUs). The average bhut jolokia is 1,019,687 SHUs, and "blasted past" the Red Savina by a factor of 2 to emerge as the temporary title-holder. However, the current Guinness World Record title-holder (as of August 2023), the
Pepper X
Pepper X is a cultivar of chili pepper recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' in 2023 as the world's hottest chili pepper. It was bred by Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper.
Pepper X measures an average of 2.693 million Scoville h ...
, has scored a maximum value of 2,693,000 SHUs.
See also
*
Race to grow the hottest pepper
*
Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
The scale ...
*
Bhut jolokia
The ghost pepper, also known as ''bhut jolokia'' ( or 'Ghost pepper' in Assamese language, Assamese), is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of ''Capsicum chinense'' and ''Capsicum frutescens''.
In ...
, the Red Savina's successor for "World's Hottest Chile"
*
Pepper X
Pepper X is a cultivar of chili pepper recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' in 2023 as the world's hottest chili pepper. It was bred by Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper.
Pepper X measures an average of 2.693 million Scoville h ...
, the current title-holder for "World's Hottest Chile"
External links
The New Mexico State University Chile Pepper InstituteThe North Carolina State University Cucurbit Breeding ProjectThe Guinness World Records
References
{{Capsicum Cultivars
Food and drink introduced in 1992
Chili peppers
Capsicum cultivars