World’s hottest chili pepper found in India

[Toliver]

MSNBC article on the “Bhut Jolokia” — the “ghost chili.”

The smallest morsels can flavor a sauce so intensely it’s barely edible. Eating a raw sliver causes watering eyes and a runny nose. An entire chili is an all-out assault on the senses, akin to swigging a cocktail of battery acid and glass shards.

For generations, though, it’s been loved in India’s northeast, eaten as a spice, a cure for stomach troubles and, seemingly paradoxically, a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

As a way of comparison: Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units. Your basic jalapeno pepper measures anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000. The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles.

The bhut jolokia crushed those contenders, testing at 1,001,304 Scoville units.

I'd be interested to see what kind of flavor they have, if any.

Has anyone tried this chile pepper?

[John S.]

I'd be interested to see what kind of flavor they have, if any.

Has anyone tried this chile pepper?

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I have some growing in my back yard in half-barrels. They are all still green but I have tested them for flavor and heat. The heat right now is like an habanero (I hope that changes) and the flavor is like a Thai chile. The chile goes by various names depending on where it is grown. Some are Naga jolokia, bih jolokia, naga morich, etc.

Here's a good wiki page on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naga_jolokia

There is a company in GB that sells bags of curry spice made with this chile. It's red, and VERY tasty! It is also very hot for a curry. You'd never see this in a normal Indian restaurant. Each bag makes about 15 servings of curry after you add the chicken or vegetables. The directions come with the product. They are on eBay.

John S.

[Domestic Goddess]

I was gonna post that the Philippines' birds eye chili pepper (siling labuyo) is the hottest pepper in the world. But I found out that it only registers up to 100,000 Scoville units. It did use to hold the Guiness World Record but hey, this was 20 years ago.

Funny side topic anecdote: I had a korean friend visit my home in Manila and proudly stated that Korean peppers are the hottest ever. I gave him some birds eye chilis to munch on and I spent the hour giving him, bread, water, rice, tissues for his eyes and nose and alternating to rubbing his back saying it will be ok.

[Fugu]

At the opposite end of the spectrum, "Researchers in Texas have recently created a mild version of the habanero pepper which retains the aroma and flavor of the traditional habanero pepper. The milder version was obtained by crossing the Yucatan habanero pepper with a heatless habanero from Bolivia over several generations. These mild habaneros are expected to be widely available to consumers in the near future. " Source

[John S.]

At the opposite end of the spectrum, "Researchers in Texas have recently created a mild version of the habanero pepper which retains the aroma and flavor of the traditional habanero pepper. The milder version was obtained by crossing the Yucatan habanero pepper with a heatless habanero from Bolivia over several generations. These mild habaneros are expected to be widely available to consumers in the near future. " Source

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There have for a number of years, been capsicum chinense chiles that look, grow and feel like habaneros or Scotch bonnets but have no heat. One is the Trinidad perfume, which I grew successfully last year. It's amazing to look at a chile and just know it's going to kill you, but then you chomp into it and it is sweet. The Trinidad perfume has an Habanero flavor but more "perfumy" as the name implies. There are others that are like this and are great in fresh salsas for those who prefer mild heat. Google "xnipec" and you will get an excellent 4-ingredient recipe for an Habanero salsa, supposedly used by the Aztecs, that is a great dipping salsa.

John S.

[Fugu]

There have for a number of years, been capsicum chinense chiles that look, grow and feel like habaneros or Scotch bonnets but have no heat. One is the Trinidad perfume, which I grew successfully last year.  It's amazing to look at a chile and just know it's going to kill you, but then you chomp into it and it is sweet.  The Trinidad perfume has an Habanero flavor but more "perfumy" as the name implies.  There are others that are like this and are great in fresh salsas for those who prefer mild heat.  Google "xnipec" and you will get an excellent 4-ingredient recipe for an Habanero salsa, supposedly used by the Aztecs, that is a great dipping salsa.

John S.

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I've actually come across sweet habaneros but I thought it was just an anomally? I enjoy the flavour of Habanero, so that genetic strain was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting heat!

Thanks for that info.

[Toliver]

I have some growing in my back yard in half-barrels.  They are all still green but I have tested them for flavor and heat.  The heat right now is like an habanero (I hope that changes) and the flavor is like a Thai chile. 

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One thing about growing chiles at home is that if you harvest seeds from a chile pod and then plant those seeds, you can end up with a different chile pepper than the original (different heat, different color or shape, etc). It depends on their pollination.

I've actually come across sweet habaneros but I thought it was just an anomally? I enjoy the flavour of Habanero, so that genetic strain was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting heat!

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And I'm the opposite. I can't stand the flavor of a habanero chile pepper. Even if there's a little bit in a bottle of hot sauce, I can taste it.

[paulraphael]

I've actually come across sweet habaneros but I thought it was just an anomally? I enjoy the flavour of Habanero, so that genetic strain was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting heat!

I really like the flavor of habaneros also. a coworker of mine years ago grew some in his garden that were MUCH milder than the ones I've found at the store. They had heat, but no more than an average jalpeno. and the flavor was amazing.

I had read that the amount of capcacin is often proportional to the harshness of the growning conditions, so I assumed that the mild ones were just the result of a pampered growing environment. But maybe it was just the strain of the chili.

Those indian chilis sound brutal! I don't know how I'd use something that concentrated.

Does anyone else like Melinda's hot sauce? It's habanero based, in a carrot puree (not vinnegar based, like tabasco). My favorite.

Edited August 2, 2007 by paulraphael (log)

[GordonCooks]

Funny side topic anecdote: I had a korean friend visit my home in Manila and proudly stated that Korean peppers are the hottest ever. I gave him some birds eye chilis to munch on and I spent the hour giving him, bread, water, rice, tissues for his eyes and nose and alternating to rubbing his back saying it will be ok.

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He was probably an adoptee - my mother used to feed us smoldering lumps of coal if we cleaned our room.

[Shel_B]

Does anyone else like Melinda's hot sauce? It's habanero based, in a carrot puree (not vinnegar based, like tabasco). My favorite.

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I've been enjoying Melinda's since around 1990. However, the current Melinda's is actually a copy of the original, now sold under the name of Marie Sharp's. It was Marie who made the original Melaindas, and than, as I understand it, got ripped off by her US distributor. Based on that, I no longer buy Melainda's and stick to Marie Sharp's. They are quite similar but Sharp's has, imo, a fuller, richer, fresher taste.

Shel

[paulraphael]

However, the current Melinda's is actually a copy of the original, now sold under the name of Marie Sharp's. It was Marie who made the original Melaindas, and than, as I understand it, got ripped off by her US distributor. Based on that, I no longer buy Melainda's and stick to Marie Sharp's. They are quite similar but Sharp's has, imo, a fuller, richer, fresher taste.

No kidding! I'll have to look for it. I can't believe that my love Melinda has been cheating on me.

[Shel_B]

However, the current Melinda's is actually a copy of the original, now sold under the name of Marie Sharp's. It was Marie who made the original Melindas, and then, as I understand it, got ripped off by her US distributor. Based on that, I no longer buy Melinda's and stick to Marie Sharp's. They are quite similar but Sharp's has, imo, a fuller, richer, fresher taste.

No kidding! I'll have to look for it. I can't believe that my love Melinda has been cheating on me.

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http://www.belizemagazine.com/edition04/en...05questions.htm

This'll give you a pretty accurate overview of the story, leaving out some of the gory details. Marie's sauce can be found on line if you can't find it in your local markets.

Marie Sharp's sauces are some of my favorites ...

Shel

Edited August 3, 2007 by Shel_B (log)

[chappie]

People are capitalizing on this story and selling packets of 50 seeds for ridiculous sums on eBay. Couldn't find that curry powder though...

Anyone have a reasonable source for the seeds?

[chileheadmike]

Cross Country Nurseries has the plants for $3.00ea. I've been getting chile plants from there for years although I haven't tried this one.

http://www.chileplants.com/search.asp?ProductCode=CHIBHJ