Chocolate Jolokia Bhut Pepper aka Ghost Pepper

The Peppers

A natural variant of the naga (or bhut) jolokia, the chocolate jolokia boasts a fruity, sweet flavor lacking in most other color varieties. The naga jolokia is a naturally occurring inter-specific hybrid chile pepper (or chili pepper) found primarily in Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India. The pepper was only recently discovered within the past decade and, in 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records declared it the world’s hottest chile pepper (or chili pepper) with a Scoville rating of over one million units. Nearly twice as hot as the former record holder, the Red Savina Habanero, and about 100 times hotter than the jalapeño, the naga jolokia delivers a punishing, scorching heat that few can tolerate. In addition to its homeopathic applications for stomach ailments, the people of northeastern India smear the pepper on fences or use it in smoke bombs to keep potentially dangerous wild elephants at bay. The pepper is also being considered for use in nonlethal military defense and riot control tactics. The pepper is called either bhut jolokia (meaning “pepper of Bhutan origin”) or naga jolokia (“pepper of Nagaland origin”), reflecting conflicting regional beliefs as to its origin. In other parts of the subcontinent, the pepper is known as naga morich (predominantly in Bangladesh), saga jolokia, or Tezpur chili. This typically orange or red pepper is characterized by rough, pocked, paper-thin skin.