Naga Jolokia Pepper Wiki
The Bhut Jolokia (also known as Naga Jolokia, Naga Morich, or the Ghost Chili) is a type of chili pepper which originated in the Assam region of northeast India. The Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur have also been known to grow the Bhut Jolokia pepper. The Guinness Book of World Records named the Bhut Jolokia as the hottest pepper in the world, a record which was previously held by the Red Savina.
Classification of the Bhut Jolokia Pepper
When ripe, the Bhut Jolokia pepper has a red or orange color and measures about 2.5 in. to 3.5 in. long and about 1 in. wide. The pepper looks very similar to the Habanero chili pepper; thought, the texture is rougher and the appearance has a more dented look.
The variety of the Bhut Jolokia pepper has been a topic of great debate. Some argue that it is a Capsicum frutescens while others argue that it is a Capiscum chinense with Capsicum frutescens genes.
Thought the pepper is known by a few different names, each name refers to the same heat intense chili pepper. The word jolokia is an Assamese word meaning “the Capsicum pepper” which is the hybrid of plant the Bhut Jolokia comes from. The word Bhut, given from the Bhutias people, means “ghost” and was probably given the name because of the way the heat sneaks up on the one who eats it. The word naga (as in the other name form, the Naga Jolokia) is a Sanskirt word meaning “King Cobra” because the pepper was thought to resemble the strength of a King Cobra bite which was known to be the most venomous snake found in the Nagaland region. Morich (as in the name form, Naga Morich) is a Manipur word for “chilli.”
The Scoville Rating of the Bhut Jolokia Pepper
The Scoville rating, which was named after Wilbur Scoville who developed the test, is a determined by how much sugar syrup it takes in order to completely lose the heat of a pepper. In 2000, India’s Defense Research Laboratory (DRL) rated the Bhut Jolokia pepper with 855,000 Scoville heat units (SHU) and in 2004 they gave the pepper a 1,041,427 SHU, which then beat the Red Savina pepper as the hottest pepper. The climate in which the pepper is grown plays a huge role in the heat intensity of the pepper. To put heat intensity of the Bhut Jolokia pepper into perspective, Bell peppers have a 0 SHU rating, Jalapeños have a 3,000 to 6,000 SHU rating, and Habaneros have a 300,000 SHU rating. With the But Jolokia pepper’s 1,000,000 SHU rating, you can see how the pepper can be recorded as the world’s hottest chili pepper.
Uses of the Bhut Jolokia Pepper
The Bhut Jolokia pepper has many uses including to spice up food or to be eaten on its own. Other uses for the Bhut Jolokia pepper are included in remedies for stomach ailment, and as a remedy to the summer heat as it will increase perspiration when ingested.
With the intensity of the pepper able to create a very strong pain sensation lasting up to 30 minutes, one should eat the Bhut Jolokia pepper with extreme caution. Also, when handling the Bhut Jolokia pepper, one should take caution as to not get any in or near the eyes as the pepper can create a very intense burn.
In short, the Bhut Jolokia pepper is one hot chili!
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