Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili (bhut jolokia)

Yahoo! News (AP) ^ | 03/23/2010 | Wasbir Hussain

[Pyro7480]

The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili.

After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.

"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said....

[SAJ]

They're first cousins. Habaneros have been cultivated for centuries and have changed over time. Bhuts, habs and Bonnets are all members of the capsicum branch of the pepper family; their hot principle is not capsaicin, but oleoresin capsicum.

more info here

[Joe 6-pack]

I’m in Louisiana...usually too humid here to do that; they’ll start to mold.

[SeaHawkFan]

There was a later episode where went back and actually finished off six of them.

[magslinger]

LOL!

[dmz]

The list I just pulled up showed the habenero and scotch bonnets at 100K-350K scovile units and the bhut jolokia starting at 850K.

[aft_lizard]

I don’t recall that one. I remember he went back to a place in NYC where he had his first defeat and finished theirs.

[OldPossum]

I’d still like to try those, or something made from them. They can’t be all that much worse than some of the peppers my Carribean co-workers have brought in - which were so hot they made my eyes water, my head sweat, my face turn an odd color, and my stomach hurt. And I like hot stuff.

I have a similar reaction when I over-indulge in habanero peppers. My antidote is bread slathered with butter or margarine and a big glass of milk. Works everytime for me.

[redangus]

I would like to compare them to “Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Sauce”

[Free Vulcan]

These things are 2 to 4 times as hot as Carribean habenero types.

[-YYZ-]

“These things are 2 to 4 times as hot as Carribean habenero types.”

OK, but on a perceived heat scale, how hot is 2 to 4 times as hot as “oh my god, I’m going to die?”

[Slump Tester]

The peppers are probably way hotter, only with flavor. That’s the thing with Dave’s, there’s no flavor, just heat.

[Cowman]

Habaneros have been cultivated for centuries and have changed over time. Bhuts, habs and Bonnets are all members of the capsicum branch of the pepper family; their hot principle is not capsaicin, but oleoresin capsicum.

Hmmm.... I wonder if I could soak the toilet paper in the congressional office building executive restroom in this stuff.

[Slump Tester]

I grew some of the hottest habaneras I've ever had myself. Here's the secret - get a bag of Miracle grow potting soil, and place it flat inside of a black plastic garbage bag. Lay this where you there will be lots of sun. Poke holes all the way through the bags so the water can get out. Cut 2 or 3 holes into the potting soil about the size of your fist to plant the seeds or plants.

Give them a little water twice a day, and stand back and wait. The sun heats the garbage bag, which heats the roots, which keeps them producing the capsaicin that make the heat.

None of my freinds could believe I grew peppers that hot here in Ohio.

[Pyro7480]

Fascinating- no pots required?

[Slump Tester]

Nope, no pots. The roots can go crazy in the big bag of hot potting soil. Just make sure there are holes clear through so the water can get out.

I only did this one year, because the landlord bitched about the dead spots in the yard from where I had all the bags laying, but they grew big, and they were HOT! I also grew some jalapenos like that that summer too. They were smoking hot as well.

[Pyro7480]

Cool. I have a place on my side yard where I can try doing this. It will be my science experiment for the year. ;-)

[SAJ]

Now, I haven't ''thunk'' conspiratorially in some time, but it might be more interesting, given technology these days, to infuse dried bhut powder, very finely ground, into the toner used in copiers and laser printers, and so forth.

**IF** one would consider such a thing, of course. I shouldn't...taking the time to do such things would clearly cost me profits in trading the assorted mkts in which I deal.

[plinyelder]

Blair's hot sauces has pure capsaicin that is rated at 16,000,000 scoville!
Took an excerpt of a hot pepper site and pasted below.

Who knew the spiciest edible substance on earth—8,000 times hotter than Tabasco sauce—was right in our backyard? Blair's 16 Million Reserve is made of raw capsaicin, the chemical component found in most chili peppers around the world, and tops the Scoville chart at 16,000,000 SR.
Sold in a tiny vial, these crystals can cause fainting with a single sniff, and downing an entire bottle will most likely end your life. A single crystal is enough to spice up an entire pot of stew. Even a bowl of tepid oatmeal can become the spiciest breakfast on earth.

[MikeD]

That’s Chunky’s Burgers, here in San Antonio. I know a guy who tried to eat one, but only made it halfway through. The restaurant makes you sign a medical waver and gives you a pair of latex gloves before you are allowed to eat the Four Horsemen.

For the fainter hearted, they offer a similar burger topped with habaneros...