Hot stuff.

• Author: Armijo, Barbara
• Position: Bhut Jolokia pepper

CHILE HISTORY WAS MADE at the National Fiery-Foods and Barbecue Show held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in March--and as expected, the news was hot.

The 2008 show saw the introduction of the Bhut Jolokia pepper, or "ghost chile" in the Assam region of India where it originates. The pepper was unleashed to the rest of the world last year, and several vendors at the famed Fiery-Foods Show used it in sauces and salsas for the first time this year.

Though that particular variety hails from India, the chile pepper is native to the Americas, where people throughout the tropical regions have cultivated it for thousands of years. It's now part of worldwide cultures.

The Chile Pepper Institute--a research arm of New Mexico State University (NMSU) specializing in the study of the Capsicum genus--offered event goers information about Bhut Jolokia as well as seeds. It was at the research institute that the new variety was tested; it earned a rating of just over one million Scoville Heat Units, making it "the hottest pepper in the world," according to Guinness World Records.

Danise Coon, of the Chile Pepper Institute, said her organization sold more than 5,000 seed packets during the 2007 growing season, the first year the seeds were widely available outside of India. Several Jolokia products are now on the market. Tom and Dawn Beasley of the Montego Bay Trading Company have released a 1.5-ounce shaker bottle of ground Jolokia pods and a 5-ounce "Hell's Inferno" hot sauce. Other products include "Dragon's Blood" from the United Kingdom.

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Peru's fiery entry came via Rancho Bravo's Siempre Calidad salsa and hot sauce. Owner Christopher Underwood said his products are 100 percent natural and 100 percent Peruvian.

Show producer Dave DeWitt, who's also known in chile circles as the "Pope of Peppers," said the annual event has grown in international flavor thanks to vendors from Peru, Mexico, South Africa, and Liberia. DeWitt has written articles and books devoted to chile, and the Fiery-Foods show was his brainchild.

About 15,000 people took in the three-day trade show this year. Although exhibitors offer numerous chile-related gadgets, posters, and clothing, the main attraction is the largest collection of hot and spicy...