My father Hristo Rodinov created his own variety of hot pepper. We named it "Bulgarian Spirit". Now "We are waiting for the laboratory results to see how hot it is ," Slavena Rodinova shared for Agri.BG.
The chili pepper is a cross between the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion – the hottest pepper until 2013 – and the red Habanero . The result is a shiny, red and very hot Bulgarian pepper, native to the Varna village of Strashimirovo.
It takes Hristo Rodinov 5–6 years to stabilize the variety. With each passing year, the pepper comes out the same, which actually takes a lot of time.
"The idea to do something different was born out of pure curiosity. At first, I started crossing different varieties and seeing what would come out. That's how this pepper was created," Hristo Rodinov himself tells BNR.
It turns out that naming a hot pepper is no easy task either.
"We did a challenge called 'Hot Overdose' to choose a name for it. We had a lot of suggestions. My family and I settled on the three best hits, and at a party on September 14, all the guests voted. They chose Bulgarian, and our hot pepper is called 'Bulgarian Spirit,'" explains Slavena.
The Bulgarian Spirit is a member of the chili pepper family that comes from the Caribbean region. They are very hot and, when cut, smell like citrus. The next step for the Rodinov family is patenting.
"This will be the hottest Bulgarian pepper. We expect it to be 100,000 to 500,000 Scovilles hot. For comparison, the most common Bulgarian hot pepper in the world - "Bulgarian Carrot" - is 20,000 Scovilles," the creator adds.
However, the farmer from Varna region doesn't stop there. He has even started making his own peat.
You can read the entire article here.