OFF THE SHELF
A scorcher, whatever you want to call it

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Habanero chilies produce four-alarm, weapons-grade heat. Even so, they're not the world's hottest peppers. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The peppers generally take this classic "lantern" "bonnet" or "acorn" shape, with knobby undulations, a hunched shoulder and stick-like upright stem. However, some varieties are pointed and elongated and almost jalape–o-size.

As to being the hottest in the world, experts dispute that.

On the Dremman hotness scale, which measures pungency by determining the amount of salsa it would take the smother the heat in a given chili, the bird peppers of Mexico and Texas (tepin and pequin chilies) are the hottest: One ounce will produce detectable heat in 300 gallons of salsa. By comparison, you can smother the heat in habaneros with about 30 gallons of salsa. And an ounce of Hawaiian red chili pepper can hold its heat only up to about 15 cups.

Scotch bonnets are considered essential to classic Jamaican "jerk" barbecue rubs (made with fresh herbs, warm spices, onions and juice or vinegar, plus a good dose of minced peppers). Throughout the Caribbean, they're used in sauces, barbecue glazes, meat dishes and soups.

In Latin America, habaneros are used in sauces and cooked dishes.