Also known as Jolokia, Bhut Jolokia, Bih Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Naga Morich, it originates in the state of Assam (India) and other regions in the northwest of the country. It is also cultivated in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In Latin America, it is known as "Chile Fantasma" (in the United States, Ghost Pepper). The term "ghost" comes from the official Indian name for the chili, where "Bhut" in Hindi means "ghost."
Its spiciness would exceed 1.040.020SHU on the Scoville scale.What is Scoville scale? It is a measure of the heat intensity of peppers or other spicy foods, expressed in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicin. To give you an idea, a habanero pepper has up to 300,000 Scoville units.
This pepper was registered as the hottest pepper in the world in the Guinness World Records until it was surpassed in 2011 by the Trinidad Scorpion, which has a heat level of 1,463,700 SHU. However, it was later surpassed in 2013 by the Carolina Reaper, which reaches up to 2,220,000 SHU. The Carolina Reaper is a cross between a habanero pepper and the Naga Bhut Jolokia, created by Ed Currie.
Here are some tips for cooking with this pepper
- Always use gloves to handle the peppers and avoid touching them with your hands
- To reduce the level of spiciness, it is recommended to remove the seeds and veins from the peppers
- It is better to add it to the cooking process from the beginning.
You can make many simple sauces with just a few vegetables or roast the peppers to achieve a different flavor. Balance it out by adding some sweet fruits like pineapple. We recommend keeping a few glasses of milk on hand to refresh your taste buds.
Go to our recipes section to see different ways to cook the Ghost Pepper.
