Your Guide to Noob-dom

So lately I’ve been watching this relatively new show from the Travel Channel called Man v. Food. And all I’ve been hearing about is this World’s Spiciest chili pepper called the ‘ghost chili’. So I’ve been researching what it is and where to find it, just so I can try it out myself. Turns out, it’s originally from India.

Here’s more about it:

In Assam, India grows the world’s hottest pepper called “Bhut Jolokia” in Hindi which when translated means “Ghost Chili”. The residents there use this chili as a common item in their foods, they mix it with sauces, and some eat it raw.

Digonta Saikai, a local farmer in Assam says this pepper is so hot, the feeling is like dying. He once told a visitor if they eat one of these chilies, they will not be able to leave this place.

A few months ago Guinness Book of World Records made it officially “Ghost Chili” as the hottest pepper in the world.

Even a smallest bit of this pepper in the food or sauce will make it barely edible. If you eat a raw pepper it 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.

The locals have been eating this pepper for generations, besides its use as a spice it is used to cure stomach troubles and also a way to fight the summer heat ranging in excess of 130 deg Fahrenheit. Who would have thought a spice can be used to quell the heat, but the locals do this on a regular basis to ward off heat. Maybe it is the Thermodynamics, the body is so hot, and it considers the surroundings chillier.

How hot is this “Ghost Chili” compared to other chili peppers? It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili’s spiciness. The spiciness is measured by calculating its content of capsaicin, the chemical that gives the spice flavor in the pepper.

In comparison to other hot spices available in the market, a Classic Tabasco sauce has 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, Jalapeno pepper measures 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville units, and the previous world record holder Red Savina Habenero contained 580,000 Scovilles. The “Bhut Jolokia” on the other hand tested at a staggering 1,001,304 Scoville units.

A chili’s spiciness can be scientifically measured by calculating its content of capsaicin, the chemical that gives a pepper its bite, and counting its Scoville units.

Because of the Guinness Book of World Records and sudden boost in the popularity, the farmers are trying to grow more and export it internationally. By the time it reaches the market, it might be watered down to reduce its spice intensity.

Despite the popularity of this Pepper, Assam however undergoes lot of strife and terrorism problems, there is a war going on there with the separatists want to split from India. There is also widespread poverty in the region. Some think maybe the boost in the sales of this pepper will help the economy grow in that region and lessen the strife.