--- title: Bhut Jolokia is No Joke...ia author: George Mandis date: 2011-02-28 description: My brief review after trying the hottest pepper in the world. tags: post --- Bhut Jolokia Holy moly, this pepper is hot. [Wow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhut_Jolokia_pepper). The Naga or Bhut Jolokia, commonly called the *Ghost Chili* in the US, most likely because it will continue to scald your taste-buds long after you're dead, is typically regarded as the hottest pepper in the world. Any food product that has a subsection labeled "Use as a Weapon" on Wikipedia has me intrigued, so I had to buy some. I also have a penchant for hot and spicy foods, but this may be above and beyond my comfort zone. I bought a small dried can almost a year ago and sprinkle it on my food every so often when I'm in the mood to ruin a perfectly good meal and sweat profusely. To use some science and numbers to explain how hot this pepper is, it scores somewhere between 855,000 and 1,000,000 on the [Scoville scale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale). I have only two things to say about that: - What kind of terrifying scale goes up to 1,000,000? Was it designed by mad scientists? I bet it was. - Holy shit, I don't even need a comparison - something that's rated 1,000,000 on a hotness scale is probably going to kill me. I'll give you a comparison anyway: Tabasco comes in at about 2,500-5,000. Pure capsaicin comes in at a stupid 15 to 16 *million*. Recommended uses include: - Dares & challenges. - Ruining perfectly edible food. Pastas, rice dishes, beans, meats - there's really nothing you can't ruin with this stuff. - Simulating the effects of pepper spray if you throw some in boiling water and neglect to turn on the vent, as I did. You will find [no shortage](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dmisc&field-keywords=bhut+jolokia&t=georgemandis-20&x=0&y=0&sprefix=bhut+jolokia) of these peppers and their seeds available online, but I recommend [the powdered variety](http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Naga-Bhut-Jolokia-Powder/dp/B004EBFX0S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1291106130&t=georgemandis-20&sr=8-5). If you're a pansy like me, it will last you a long time, but if not you could be bold and [buy the 3-pack](http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Naga-Bhut-Jolokia-Powder/dp/B004EBE1BA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&t=georgemandis-20&qid=1291106130&sr=8-6) I suppose. Real stone-cold killers buy [the 2.2lb bag](http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Chile-Powder-2-2-Each/dp/B00271GKVI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&t=georgemandis-20&s=grocery&qid=1291106130&sr=8-4) and probably rub it in their eyes in the morning the wake themselves up.