Phew, what a scorcher...
Gardener perfects extreme chilli
The world’s hottest chilli will be among the star attractions at the Braehead Flower Show this weekend.
Gardener Alasdair Forsyth is feeling confident about landing first prize in the ‘hottest chilli’ category – for he has successfully grown a Carolina Reaper.
The Carolina Reaper is officially the world’s hottest chilli. It has a reading of one million on the Scoville Scale, which measures spicy heat, and is an incredible 300 times hotter than the jalapeño.
Alasdair, who has been growing chillies for over 20-years, said: “This is a really intense chilli and you would be crazy to eat it in one go. Once finely chopped up, there’s enough chilli here to make hundreds of really, really hot curries.”
The Carolina Reaper is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the hottest chilli ever – beating other plants such as the Trinidad Scorpion and Napa Viper.
Community garden chairperson and councillor for Stirling East Chris Kane added: “I thought the honeybees were the most dangerous things at Braehead Community Garden, but now I’m not so sure.
“Our first flower show was a great success but it is obvious listening to everybody that the competition has ratcheted up a notch or two for 2017.”
The event will take place on Sunday with more than 100 different categories – with carrots, cauliflowers, courgettes among those set to make an appearance while other sections will cover crafts, photography and home baking.
Organisers say that the event is open to all growers and not just those in Braehead. All are welcome along to the show, which will run from 1.30pm to 4pm with the presentation of prizes at 3.30pm.