The Hungarian farm that grows the world’s hottest as well as most expensive chillies

Photo: Pixabay

The award-winning family business in eastern Hungary produces a wide range of handcrafted products, by also using some of the world’s hottest and most expensive types of chilli, writes Origo.

ChillER Manufaktúra is based in Báránd, Hajdú-Bihar County, in eastern Hungary, and it was established as a family business in 2017. Since then, the products of ChillER have won several awards around the world: one of their latest successes were achieved

at the American Artisan Flave Awards, where their chilli-flavoured honey (Fusion Honey) was awarded a gold medal, and their Don Papa Sauce was selected the third-best in the Steak Sauce category.

The company produces a wide range of handcrafted chilli products, including hot sauces, barbecue sauces, olive oil, honey, and chocolate, all of which are available in their webshop.

ChillER grows several different types of chilli, including the famous Carolina Reaper, which was originally developed in South Carolina, and in 2013, it was declared by the Guinness World Records as the hottest chilli in the world. The highest heat level ever measured for a Carolina Reaper pepper was 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU).

And we do not have to set foot outside of Hungary if we want to spend our money on the world’s most expensive pepper, either. Up until recently, Aji Charapita has only grown wild in Peruvian jungles, but today, it is also cultivated for commercial use.

A single pepper is not larger than a pea and is “only” 30,000 to 50,000 SHU strong, but the price of a kilogram could easily reach USD 25,000.

Chilli (Capsicum annuum) is known for having several beneficial effects on our health. It strengthens the immune system, stimulates digestion and circulation, has antibacterial properties, and is also known as a mood-booster, as our body releases adrenaline and endorphins in response to the burning sensation we get after eating chilli, which is caused by a component called Capsaicin.