Kingdom Plantae - The Ghost Chili

So I was watching the Discovery Travel Channel last week, Man vs. Food was on, and the challenge that Adam had to accomplish was to eat the Four Horsemen. This was a cheeseburger with four hot peppers - jalapenos, habaneros, serranos, and the spiciest of the spicy: the ghost chili. I then decided it would be be interesting to write up a post dealing with spicy peppers and I shall proceed in order of increasing spiciness using the Scoville Scale (the higher the number the higher the pain).

Pimiento, a.k.a Cherry Pepper, 0-999
These are the little red things in green olives and are also commonly used for stuffed peppers. They aren't very hot, listed as mild.

Poblano, a.k.a Ancho Chile, 1,000-1,500
A pepper found mainly in Mexico it is used in some foods as it is listed as low heat.

Jalapeno, 2,500-8,000
One of the most popular of all the chili peppers it is used in a variety of dishes and is listed as medium heat.

Serrano, 10,000-20,000
One of the Four Horsemen in the challenge it brings some heat with an intensity of hot.

Cayenne, a.k.a Bird Pepper, 30,000-50,000
Another hot pepper, it is widely popular in cooking spicy meals and is used for some homemade medicinal remidies, as the spice temporarily relieves pain by wearing out the neurotransmitters.

Tabasco, 30,000-50,000
If you're wondering where your tabasco sauce lies on this scale, it's about equal in heat to the Cayenne, listed as hot.

Habanero, 100,000-350,000
If you wanted hot you've got exceptionally hot. Believed by those who haven't heard of the Ghost Chili to be the hottest pepper it brings the pain. Popular for use in insanely hot wings and salsa's a little drop goes a long way.

Naga Jolokia, a.k.a Ghost Chili, 855,000-1,050,000
Number one on the list and holding the Guinness Book of World Records for the hottest pepper is the Ghost Chili. Now if you're wondering what is it that makes it, and the other chili's so hot, the answer is that they all have the chemical capsaicin. The peppers use the chemical to deter away hungry herbivores as touching the fruit as well as chewing it can cause a burning sensation. The Naga Jolokia is actually native to India and set your mouth on fire for another 30 minutes after eating the pepper. It's name actually means King Cobra, as the natives named it after the snake (which is highly poisoinous by the way). The picture at the top is of the Ghost Chili, so be warned next time someone offers you to try it, you may just end up regretting you did. If you have to eat with latex gloves than you're better off not eating it.