Chilli and the hippie feel

Or should the title read: I lost that loving feeling?

I stopped writing about chillies almost totally, some time ago, you must have noticed. Not for no reason no, but I got sick of it all loosing the hippie feel. After 4 of my articles about the-race-for-your-best-chilli-or-money, I got dragged through the mud, to say the least. In facebook discussions all the hard data was pulled up in doubt, and questioned. In discussions, I was quoted with comments as being a self-righteous sob or even a bigot as claims that my interpreting of the cold hard numbers were false.
Endless discussion about average heat in records, being average high, and not average mean.
Weird enough I was accused of gaining in some sort of financial way even though I am not in the chilli business, by spreading lies about real numbers that are not mine but from the official institutes like the chili pepper institute in New Mexico.
Smoke and mirrors, as the only ones contesting the cold hard numbers, were commercial growers.

Even though I am in the Netherlands, I started getting calls from the US, from growers telling me the “real” story mostly jabbing about why others should not have had the Guinness worldrecord for the hottest chilli. Point to another, for yourself not to be seen is not good I tell my kids. Divide and conquer, to win in the market?
Low and behold I thought it was an American thing hyping chillies and never getting a record, but a few weeks later a Finland grower started telling he had the next record winning chilli, without showing proof.
Not seen any since my last article about the race months ago.
But, maybe the fight in the market is shushed down for a good few weeks, as Ed Currie has got the new Guinness worldrecord for the hottest chilli with his Carolina Reaper. I would say congrats Ed for your endless work to get it through Guinness.

So I lost the love, for the chilli scene, nothing to do with hippies but just cold hard cash. And don’t tell me that is not true; I read an interview from one of the commercial growers, making about a million US dollars a year.
After getting more and more mails, telling yet another time a different story of what really happened, I got sick of it. I banned every commercial grower that tried to sell me shoe laces for leather belts. I don’t react on any accusation made to my address; I don’t give a rats arse anyway, as I so lost the love.

Sure, some of my old real friends tried to pull me back in the hippie side but every time I say anything about chillies, I start getting this rotting smell up my nose again. Buy this, buy that, we’re better than others and others are better than. . . .
I even have a chilli group on facebook, I started to avoid and when I did drop in, I saw loads of advertisement. No, no, it is just a taste test video naming a certain website a zillion times. . .
Right, and my name is Conny !
Well, first thing I did was toss out the overly pushing their seeds down your throat kind off sellers, then I started to interact a bit again.

At the other hand, I am working my arse off trying to start up a care farm for challenged people, so I don’t have time to interact that much. “De Groeistek” (Eng= place where you can grow) will be a place where we grow heirloom foods, together with our participants giving them the support they need.

When friends got the news where I was working for, I got a load of support, overwhelming and heart warming. Loads of links were shared, and a lot of attention throughout the world. Friends started sending me special chillies, telling me to use the seeds at the farm and make some money from them. Catharina send me loads, Chris Fowler that makes excellent sauce send me a load, Ivor Davies told me he would sponsor the farm with seeds as well. I am starting to feel. . . .

You know, if I could learn to be hard and start promoting on the “I will shove those sees down your throat” kind of way I could really make a buck. I am allowed to put a 150 m3 greenhouse there, I could make more, maybe even. . .
I could make a million too, even with a care farm, if I only start promoting as. . . .

Noo, as I start feeling the love! And, I don’t want to bloody taint it!

Cheers Bart

HP22B "Carolina Reaper", or the Carolina Ripper? Follow the money !

Well, as I said I would come back on this one, as I would get to see real proof and data. And?
Well, I have been nagging Ed Currie with questions as constantly, there is talk about proof. Talk doesn’t bring me anywhere, but I get to hear, proof has been published. . .

First what is happening with the Carolina Reaper?
Well as far as I got from Ed Currie which is the developer or the one to find it, this is a very stable chilli. Apart from that I learn the low and the high are very close to the average (mean US) heat. Now that, if it is true, would be fantastic for the chilli industry and the people using this chilli. As with a heap of super hot varieties it is almost like running the gauntlet, you never know how hot it is. And sauce makers will want to have a constant same heat, and the user of the chilli on itself as well. You don’t want your food to be twice as hot, just as you took a chilli from the wrong plant. So in fact, it would be fantastic !!

“This is not my goal” Ed says in an interview I had with him “The chilli is used in several researches at the Winthrop University and most important for me, it might be used in the fight for cancer”. Ed has already worked for several years together looking for the best and most stable chilli, and several studies have been done with the “kids”

So why did it get hyped?

Well any novelty on the chilli market and in the chilli scene is worth a lot of money. It is a lot better if it would be at the top end in heat scale if it has an ok taste. It would even be loads better if your super hot novelty is great tasting, and kept silent up to releasing it after it won a record and/or is registered as a new variety. When you have a registered name, or rather a patented variety, you have struck gold if it really is a great pepper.
Think about the peppadew, and that is a medium heat chilli !
So why was it released too early, hyped too much, and no proof was shown? To add to the hype?

Well the story is this:
Ed Currie has this great chilli he is working on for years on end, and he has a little local hot sauce shop. He offers this chilli to Dr. Calloway for testing and using at research with the Winthrop University, so that students learn to work through the standardized testing methods without having to work with a dull white powder or a liquid that tells nothing. Dr. Calloway’s teaching interests focus on analytical chemistry as well as introductory chemistry for science and non-science majors, using real chillies, I like this man! Anyway, 04-11-2011 at the student researchers share project results from measurements and research is shown in a poster show. A local newspaper covers this news and national public radio, got to hear about it, and showed up at Ed Currie’s doorstep. The good and dumb reporter tastes a little and starts to throw up, this landed at youtube. Ted, Brad and other enthusiasts find out about it, and this way more and more people start talking about it.

Now, at some point Pepper Joe ( known to a lot of us) gets wind of it, and hooks up with Ed.
Now the rest I already puzzled together. Pepper Joe got his hands on a decent amount of seeds, and starts hyping this variety premature, even gets it a name in a contest and starts selling them. Ed didn’t see this coming. Too daft to be true, but well, a novelty is worth a lot of money. Such a shame, but what can you do, the word is out? It could have been much better and worth a lot more. Both for science and for the work Ed is trying to do with it.

So what can you do?

Now this thing is the oddest Ed has been saying that proof was published all the time. So where is it?
Well, simple, at the Winthrop University where you can ask for the results. The newspaper I couldn’t find, but what better to believe than a Uni. So I asked if I could give Dr Calloway a call, sure, so I did. I had a pleasant talk with him for almost an hour, and at the end was given permission to publish both the poster as well as a close up from the results of measurements. COOL ! Do I have a first now? No, this news is 2 years old.
Is Ed Currie going for the Guinness Record for Hottest Chilli?
Yes, the paperwork is in the process, and I get to show the nrs, 22b is the bad boy.

Yours sincerely,

Bart J. Meijer

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion going for Guinness record, or just going for your money?

In my quest to find out more about these so-called new pro-claimed record winners, I have had a good few emails and questions, why I would dig. Or why it is an interesting topic even. Note these questions have only been asked by people in the chilli business, or affiliated to it. Most of the time, I do answer; I am trying to follow the money. But as soon as the word money drops, all gets silent, or I get answers like “I am just earning my living”.
If I also hear from growers of the next possible runner ups, that they get over 1000 emails per day begging for seeds, do the calculation yourself for 10 dollar per 10 seeds or more.. Nothing wrong with it, if it really is a winner, but you know what? You need to win first, before you are a winner.

So, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Trinidad Scorpion “Moruga”, TS Morouga, and TS Morouga blend, that are the pretty much the same, has been announced on 5 February 2012 by NMSU’s ( New Mexico State University) Chile Pepper Institute (CPI) as the hottest pepper on earth. Jim Duffy from Refining Fire Chillies provided the seeds to the CPI and comes in several media for that and sells these seeds from this “Hottest pepper on earth”.

Nothing wrong with that sofar, however. . . .
A lot of controversy is there, as a lot of debate all over the web starts about the facts and numbers, and the question rises for proof and the publication of this proof.
Proof of this scientific research and its research gets published by the American Society for Horticultural Science in the Hortechnology issue August 2012 22(4) under the title: ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’ Pepper is the World’s Hottest Measured Chile Pepper at More Than Two Million Scoville Heat Units. This title is somewhat better and I will explain this.

But first, where does this chilli come from? It has been found in Moruga, Trinidad in the Caribbean’s. It is found by Sara Ragoonanan, who found a lot more superhot chillies in this region. She, and I quote: “I found it in 2007, it was used as a vegetable. I used it for hot sauce. That's how I discovered this variety packed heat. I knew this was the variety I was searching for, I would first dissect the pods, and take some seeds out for growing. I did start trading seeds with no charge to growers worldwide. At that time I did not think super hots would get this recognition. “
She shared them with several people amongst others with Christopher Phillips, who shares them also wtih Neil Smith from the Hippyseedcompany and Marcel de Wit from the Chilli Factory. I love it, that sharing bit!
Those last two tell me both they have send seeds to Jim Duffy and Jim tells me he got it from Jukka in Finland. Funny in between the lines this great chap Neil Smith, is dyslexic so he miss spells the name Moruga to Morouga. So almost another variety was born. . . Sorry, drifted off, so after this trip around the world, let’s go to New Mexico.

Proof:
For testing SHU (Scoville Heat Units) the Chilli Pepper Institute grows chillies on fertile fields along the Rio Grande, in a high desert country, 1200 meters above sea level where the sun always shines, the air is dry, and only20 cm of rain a year. Well, that is bound to give good results. They performed an excellent test by the first look at it, testing the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Bhut Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion, Douglah Trinidad Chocolate, and Trinidad 7-pot Jonah to see which variety has the highest average measured heat level (mean) and how the chile peppers are related, using molecular analysis. Now, sounds great but I would have loved this research to compare the others to the current Guinness Book of records chilli, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.
And they do not? Well, they could not get the seeds at the time they answer by mail after asking.

Even though the publication of this research in HortTechnology at first glance looks great, it is wildly vague about how many plants there were planted it their test fields, and even do not name a specific number of pods tested. This is a bit strange, together with the title “World hottest measured Chilli” Then if you want to read the issue from HortTechnology, or the part that has the research the answer is: It is copyrighted so, you have to pay money for it. . . .
After asking by email the CPI replies: We harvested 30 pods per plant, randomly picked from different places all over the plant, 20 plants per replication and there were 4 replications.
There were 2,400 pods harvested from each variety.
So the article should have been clear on that.

The result from all this testing is clear; The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion has peaked at 2,009,231 SHU having a low at 953,703 SHU and an average heat level (mean) of 1,207,764.
So is this now the new Guinness Book of Records chilli? No, as the other winners had to proof average (mean) heat level, and this chilli is 200.000SHU+ under par.
So is the “World hottest measured Chilli” No, as we haven’t seen publications of research by others, nor their test results for highest measured. V ( Nor is the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T tested for this at the CPI themselves either.)
Why? It is not important what the highest is, it is important what the average is if you want to make produce with it. Would I want to use it at home? No, as I have 2 kids and a wife, and I would not like it to play Russian roulette with food that can be twice as hot depending on which plant you took a chilli from.

Still, seeds are sold as mad, so from this self proclaimed title money is made. People contesting this “record” are being told that the other record breakers are not tested by a third party.
SHU measurements would have been done by colleges or second grade laboratories.
Only one pepper would have been tested and other rubbish.
The lab equipment would not be calibrated with the other labs, etc etc.
Well for SHU measurement there is a standardized procedure that any labrat can do if he has the tools.
Even the scale at the local butcher is calibrated every year, so what do you think they do in a lab, smoke pot?
Even Guinness is attacked: “Guinness is Independent and nothing but a record keeper and record publisher. They are not a scientific organization. They can make their own rules and set their own criteria and change it anytime they want.” ( Guinness when I called them, asked me to provide links to these statements, and to send them on to their legal department )
These poor excuses was what tickled me to look further into things, as they sound to me like poor excuses, or as poor advertisement for a chilli that is not a winner.
And claiming victory on a self proclaimed title of “World hottest measured Chilli” is too silly to step in to.

Weird enough there has been more controversies with the “New Mexico Scorpion” as well. This was also claimed to be a new found variety, that later was discovered to be a renamed one.

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, the current record holder.

The current record holder therefore is still Marcel de Wit from Australia with the Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” and after asking he let us know:
So the Guinness World Record was:
- Tested more than one pod.
- 8,500 Trinidad plants, commercial growers.
- Scientifically tested and averaged/MEAN heat.

Anybody telling you differently just tell them to read this ... and yes we have had to send a scientifically correct tested, backed up by THREE horticulturists, pack with lots of information to Guinness World Record to PROOF we did it Scientifically!

All in all I think it is great that a chilli grower works with  the CPI, and is giving away loads of seeds to research, as others did not. So I hope Jim Duffy can select the hottest plants, topping at 2 million SHU. If he gets that one stable at say 1,8 million SHU, I bet nobody will go over that mark.

If you want the hottest, ask for proof, if there is none I’ll bet you. . .
There is none.

Yours sincerely,

Bart J. Meijer
Images by Chris Fowler, a chap in the UK with excellent seeds as well!

The race for your best chilli, or money

With the last post I made about the hottest chilli or not, I seem to have hit somewhat of a sore spot.
I am getting mails and personal messages from all over the world.
As it seems a lot of people are keen to know how and what.
Most of all though, they want to know if they are fooled.
And as of yet, I can not tell.

Sure, I have been digging in to papers, research articles, the whole bit.
But I am not done digging, at all, and still reading through heaps of data and rumours.

One paper however, from Hort Technology, writing the article about the research done by Chile Pepper Institute in New Mexico USA has been presented to me to prove the ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’ is hotter than the Butch T.
However it only proves the ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’ can be considered the world’s hottest known measured chile pepper. Now you don't want one out of 36 being very hot and the rest rather lame, do you? If I want to have a great tasting chilli that is superhot, I want it to be hot overall, and not Russian Roulette. For a sauce I want chillies to be not up and down the chart. A difference in SHU from the lowest to the hottest fruit of well over 100 % is dramatic if you want your sauce to be consistently the same.

Now there is a huge difference between being the hottest measured, and the hottest. From the record breaking Butch T only the average heat or `mean level` is known, not how hot the hottest was.
So, is the ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’ the hottest World Guiness Book of Records chilli?
Well that remains to be seen, as I am still searching for proof indicating it is.

For the Carolina Reaper an other upcoming record breaking hot chilli, I am expecting to see data anytime. Ed Currie has promised to send me data and research to show his creation will be the next hottest World Guiness Book of Records chilli to be yet hotter as both the Butch T and the ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’

Yours sincerely,

Bart J. Meijer