US: When it comes to peppers, are there no limits?

Few things thrill me more than to land in the intersection of agriculture and science. So you can imagine my excitement when I received my UC Cooperative Extension newsletter last week and learned researchers were working hard on a project near and dear to my heart — or more accurately, my heartburn.

Scientists are trying to grow a spicier jalapeño. Specifically, Aziz Baameur, a farm adviser working with vegetable growers in Santa Clara and San Benito counties, is trying to increase the Scoville units – the measurement of a pepper’s heat – of the ever-popular jalapeño.

“The trend lately is toward hotter items,” said Jeff Sanders, raw product coordinator for George Chiala Farms in Morgan Hill, noting a growing popularity of foods containing habanero and even the Bhut jolokia, or ghost pepper. “Both of those are significantly hotter than jalapeños, but the jalapeño is still sort of the standard bearer for a hot pepper.”

Click here to read the complete artice at www.thecalifornian.com.