Named the hottest chili pepper in the world by The Guinness Book of World Records, the Bhut Jolokia (also known as Naga Jolokia) easily eclipses the former record holder, the Red Savina which clocked in at 570,000 Scoville Heat Units.
The pepper was originally grown in Northeastern India and Bangladesh, but as seeds and plants have become available for purchase, the pepper is starting to be more widely cultivated and used in recipes in the Western World. (FieryFoods.Com has a recipe for Super Hot Assam Curry Paste that uses the peppers towards the bottom of the page.)
As it says on Wikipedia…
“The pepper is used as a spice in food or eaten alone. One seed from a Naga Jolokia can sustain intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Extreme care should be taken when ingesting the pepper and its seeds, so as to not get it in the eyes. It is used as a cure for stomach ailments. It is also used as a remedy to summer heat, presumably by inducing perspiration. In northeastern India the peppers are smeared on fences or used in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance.”
Here’s a YouTube video of a brave (and experienced) chili pepper aficionado trying Bhut Jolokia for the first time. And here’s another.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:00 am
Nice looking site. Trying to grow these myself. Check out my bhut jolokia garden blog.