Siling Labuyo

system Chile Varieties Leave a Comment

Share on Facebook0Tweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+0Email this to someone

Dear Dave,

How hot is the Philippine "labuyo" (a.k.a. siling labuyo)? These are small chilies and are terribly hot whether not-so-ripe green or mature red. I remember reading a paperback Guinness Book of World Records (forgot the year) which claims it is the hottest natural (meaning not artificially bred) chile in the world, having the highest capsaicin rating.

Jack

Hello Jack:

For a while, the Guinness Book listed the ’siling labuyo’ as the hottest chile in the world, but later corrected the error and listed the habanero. The Filipino chiles are very hot, but I’ve not seen the results of any HPLC testing. If by "artificially bred" (not an accurate term) you mean cultivated rather than wild, I’m not sure what the hottest wild chile is. I would think that the chiltepin is just as hot as the siling labuyo. I think the siling labuyo is both wild and cultivated. I would think both of them would top 100,000 Scoville Heat Units.

Dave

Share on Facebook0Tweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+0Email this to someone