The ghost pepper, also known as ''bhut jolokia'' (which literally means '

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

pepper' in Assamese), is an interspecific hybrid

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

cultivated in

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. It is a hybrid of ''

Capsicum chinense ''Capsicum chinense'', commonly known as a "habanero-type pepper", is a species of chili pepper native to the Americas. ''C. chinense'' varieties are well known for their unique flavors and many have exceptional heat. The hottest peppers in th ...

'' and '' Capsicum frutescens''. In 2007, ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' certified that the ghost pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 170 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. The ghost chili is rated at more than one million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). However, in the race to grow the hottest chili pepper, the ghost chili was superseded by the

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is a ''Capsicum chinense'' cultivar that is among the hottest peppers in the world. It is indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. It was named by Neil Smith from The Hippy Seed Company, after he got the seeds ori ...

in 2011 and the Carolina Reaper in 2013.

Etymology and regional names

The name ''bhüt jolokia'' (ভোট জলকীয়া) means 'Bhutanese pepper' in Assamese; the first element ''bhüt'', meaning 'Bhutan', was mistakenly confused for a near-

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definitio ...

''bhut'' meaning 'ghost'. In

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, the pepper is also known as ''bih zôlôkia'' ('poison chili'), from Assamese ''bih'' 'poison' and ''zôlôkia'' 'chili pepper,' denoting the plant's heat. Similarly, in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, one of the regions of cultivation, the chili is called ''Naga jolokia'' ('Naga chili'; also romanized ''nôga zôlôkia'') and ''bhut jolokia'' (also romanized ''bhût zôlôkiya''). This name is especially common in other regions where it is grown, such as

and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. Other usages on the subcontinent are ''saga jolokia'', 'Indian mystery chili' and 'Indian rough chili'. It has also been called the Tezpur chili after the Assamese city of

Tezpur Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 10 ...

. In

, the chili is called ''umorok'' or ''oo-morok'' ('tree chili'). In northeastern India, the ''bhut jolokia'' is also known as the "king chilli" or "king cobra chilli'".

Scoville rating

In 2000, India's Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) reported a Scoville rating for the ghost pepper of 855,000 SHUs, and in 2004 a rating of 1,041,427 SHUs was made using

HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), formerly referred to as high-pressure liquid chromatography, is a technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. It relies on pumps to p ...

analysis. For comparison, Tabasco red pepper sauce rates at 2,500–5,000, and pure

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burnin ...

(the chemical responsible for the

pungency Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...

of pepper plants) rates at 16,000,000 SHUs. In 2005,

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

's Chile Pepper Institute in Las Cruces, New Mexico found ghost peppers grown from seed in southern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

to have a Scoville rating of 1,001,304 SHUs by HPLC. Unlike most peppers, ghost peppers produce

in vesicles found in both the placenta around the seeds and throughout the fruit, rather than just in the placenta.

Characteristics

Ripe peppers measure in length and in width with a red, yellow, orange, or chocolate color. The unselected strain of ghost peppers from India is an extremely variable plant, with a wide range in fruit sizes and fruit production per plant. Ghost pepper pods are unique among peppers because of their characteristic shape and very thin skin. However, the red fruit variety has two different types: the rough, dented fruit and the smooth fruit. The rough fruit plants are taller, with more fragile branches, while the smooth fruit plants yield more fruit and are compact with sturdier branches. It takes about 7–12 days to germinate at 32–38 °C.

Uses

Ghost peppers are used as a food and a spice. It is used in both fresh and dried forms to "heat up" curries, pickles and

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce ...

s. It is popularly used in combination with pork or dried or fermented fish. In northeastern India, the peppers are smeared on fences or incorporated in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

at a distance. The pepper's intense heat makes it a fixture in competitive chili-pepper eating.

Chili grenades

In 2009, scientists at India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced plans to use the peppers in

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ...

s as a

nonlethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

method to control rioters with

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...

s or in self-defence. The DRDO said that ghost pepper-based aerosol sprays could be used as a "safety device", and "civil variants" of chili

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...

s could be used to control and disperse mobs. Chili grenades made from ghost peppers were successfully used by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

in August 2015 to flush out a terrorist hiding in a cave.

Gallery

File:Bhut jolokia 10 Days.JPG, Ghost pepper leaf, about 10-day-old plant File:Bhut jolokia leaf.JPG, Ghost pepper leaf, about 30-day-old plant File:Bhut jolokia plant 40 days.JPG, Ghost pepper plant, 40 days old, grown in coco peat File:Naga Jolokia Peppers.jpg File:BhutJolokia02 Asit.jpg File:BhutJolokia03 Asit.jpg File:BhutJolokia04 Asit.jpg File:BhutJolokia06 Asit.jpg File:BhutJolokia08 Asit.jpg File:Peach Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper.jpg, Peach ghost pepper File:Yellow Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper.jpg, Yellow ghost pepper File:Chocolate Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper.jpg, Chocolate ghost pepper File:Purple Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper.jpg, Purple ghost pepper File:Red Bhut Jolokia Ghost PepperParadise.org.JPG, Red ghost pepper File:Bjhut-Jolokia.jpg, Ripe, harvested ''bhut jolokia'' File:Bhut-Jolokia-plant.jpg, ''Bhut jolokia''/ghost pepper plant

References

{{Capsicum cultivars Capsicum cultivars Chili peppers Medicinal plants of Asia Flora of Assam (region) Geographical indications in Nagaland