Bhut Jolokia: The World's Hottest Pepper

Bhut Jolokia is also called the Naga Jolokia, Bih Jolokia, Borbih Jolokia, Ghost Chili, and goes by several other names in different parts of the world. No matter where you live, or what you call it, this pepper is nasty hot. It has been tested at over 1,000,000 Scoville heat units. This is 2-3 times hotter than the Habanero pepper. Ouch. The Habanaro pepper is already plenty hot enough in its own right, coming in at about 300,000-400,000 Scoville heat scale units.

This pepper is native to the Assam region of Northeastern India, but is well used throughout the entire country. The Jalokia is added as a spice in prepared dishes, eaten by itself, or used in many types of salsa dishes. It is also employed as a cure for some stomach ailments, and as a remedy for hot summer days by making you sweat. People in parts of India may also smear it on fences to keep animals in control.

This medium size pepper is only about 3-4 inches long, but it kicks back with a vengeance beyond compare. One seed can produce intense pain in your mouth for up to thirty minutes before easing up. A loud ringing in your ears is another effect from them if you take too large a bite. If you rub a cut piece of this pepper on your bare skin a painful red welt will soon appear that takes a while to go away. Eating just one little piece can cause your eyes to water and your nose to run. Whatever you do, keep your hands away from your eyes after handling these things.

Only in the past few years has this pepper finally been getting recognized. In 2000, the Assam-based defense laboratory pronounced the Jolokia to be the worlds hottest pepper. (They were researching this pepper with the idea of making tear gas and pepper spray from it.) Then the world's hottest pepper results came in from the New Mexico State University's Chili Pepper Institute, and were confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records recently.

It is now official: the Bhut jolokia is the world's hottest pepper. The once mighty Habanero pepper has lost its crown as the king of mouth pain. Give a Jolokia a try if you must, but please be careful with it. Just a very small piece can make an entire pot of chili almost too hot to eat, so go easy with the stuff.

I am warning you the best I can, so please be careful if you partake, and good luck to you.

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