This new guide to 100 chiles is organized according to heat, starting with bell peppers, the mildest, with no more than a hundred Scoville Heat Units, the scientific measure of spiciness. At the high end, with often more than 1 million units, are Dorset Naga, Naga Viper, Bhut Jolokia, Chocolate 7-Pot, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and, at up to 2.3 million units, the Carolina Reaper from South Carolina. The Scoville scale is explained, and profiles of each chile are given, with an illustrated representation, a description of where and how the chile was developed, how it evolves on the plant and how it’s used.
“An Anarchy of Chilies” by Caz Hildebrand (Thames & Hudson, $29.95), thamesandhudsonusa.com.
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