mer has cultivated a 'tree of fire' that has yielded over 1,000 of the world's hottest chillies. Joy Michaud, 55, has a glut of the Dorset Naga chillies on her hands and just one of the pungent red fruits is thought to contain more heat than eight vindaloo curries. They measure an eye-watering 1.2 million units on the Scoville heat scale, compared to a mere 30,000 in the average red chilli.The Naga, originally native to north-east India rather than south-west England, usually has 800,000 Scoville units - the scale used to measure chilli heat. But their heat has been turned up this year thanks to the red hot summer. Mrs Michaud has now submitted an application to Guinness World Records.
She started growing the chillies in 2005 and sells the wickedly fiery treats at the local farmer's market - eight for three pounds to the bravest customers. While handling the dangerous fruit the farmer wears two pairs of latex gloves and a plastic mackintosh to protect her skin from the heat. She also advises that people wear goggles or glasses while preparing the chilli and to tie long hair back. Just a small taste can cause burning eyes, a streaming nose, and uncontrollable hiccups.
Joy, 55, who originally hails from America, said: "It really is astonishing to think about how much heat is on this plant. 'It is holding more heat than any other I can think of. The most chillies we have ever had on a plant is about 700. I believe this plant has over 1,000 chillies on it so extra care will need to be taken when we pick all the fruit from it. Not only that, but they are much hotter this year than ever before with an average reading of 1.2 million on the Scoville Heat Scale.'
'The Dorset Naga chillies are so full of chemicals they can be quite dangerous, if their skin is intact they are ok, but if not, precautions must be taken. When I am picking or preparing them I wear two layers of latex gloves and I change them every 15 minutes as the chemicals will seep through and inflame the skin.'
