السبت، 8 فبراير 2014

Let Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce Spice Up Your Life

By Jerri Perry


If you love all things spicy, you've probably experienced those times when you eat a so-called spicy condiment only to wait in vain for that tingling sensation in your mouth. You may have to try something more potent. A great way to spice up your life is with ghost pepper hot sauce.

The ghost pepper is also known as the bhut jolokia. It's native to the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Depending on the variety, its texture can be uneven or smooth. When it's ripe, its color can vary from red or yellow to orange or even chocolate brown. A bhut jolokia chili is about two and a half inches long and about an inch in diameter.

People in Assam use the chilies to add flavor and spice to their food. It helps to combat the uncomfortably hot climate. In addition, it is used as a safety precaution against elephants. Villagers and farmers simply smear it on their fences and the pachyderms will stay away. The Indian military now even experiments with this fiery little fruit as an ingredient in pepper spray and smoke grenades.

The bhut jolokia is one of the hottest foods there is. It has a Scoville heat rating of about 1,000,000 units. It used to hold the record for the fieriest chili on Earth but the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and the Carolina Reaper have both surpassed it with ratings of over 1,500,000 SHU. If you wonder how hot this is, consider that the habanero, itself legendary for its heat, packs in only about 300,000 SHU at the most.

The ghost pepper is a sneaky little thing. It waits for thirty seconds or so, just enough time for you to think that it's really not so hot after all, and then hits you with a heat that will give you heart palpitations. The torture continues and even intensifies for the next fifteen minutes and only subsides after half an hour or so, when your breathing can return to normal again. Ice cream, milk or yogurt may help to relieve the worst burn but don't grab for the nearest beer because carbonated drinks only add to the pain.

If you have an abundance of bhut jolokia peppers, you can use them to make your own sauce. This is akin to working with dangerous chemicals in a lab. You'll need latex gloves to handle the peppers because they will burn your skin. Goggles to protect your eyes and a mask to keep you from inhaling the fumes will help too. Use separate plastic utensils because the peppers produce an oil that will stick to metal for quite a while.

If you like living dangerously but not enough to risk your life in the kitchen, a good option is to simply buy ready-made sauces. These usually have a vinegar base and also contain garlic, onions and other ingredients for flavor. Of course this is assuming that you'll be able to appreciate it with your mouth on fire.

To find ghost pepper hot sauce, you only need to look in your local food store. Farmer's markets and delis may have some homemade ones to sell too. Another option is to order them online. Remember to use the condiments very, very sparingly if you want to survive to tell the tale.




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