In the next few weeks on the YB Blog, we’re deviating from our “Meet Your Lettuce” series to discuss something just as important – hot peppers! You can expect to gain a whole lot of spicy knowledge as we’ll be exploring the benefits, flavors, and differences between them all : the Jalapeno, the Habanero, the Ghost Pepper, the California Reaper, & all of their second cousins. Hot peppers, we crown you the kings of our pallets, the intimidatingly painful-to-pick fruit of our farm, and the only spice our hot sauce needs.
Surely you’ve heard of it. The pepper tasted and used only by the most devoted of spicy food eaters and chefs : The Ghost Pepper.
It is known by many other names : The Bhut jolokia, Ghost chili, U-morok, Red naga, Naga jolokia and Bih jolokia but a supremely hot pepper known by any other name is still supremely hot. According to the Guiness Book of World Record’s it is the second hottest pepper in the world, with its SHU at a whopping 1,041,427. It hails from Northeast India and grows slightly differently (in different colors, shapes, and SHU’s) depending on the soil and climate in which it is planted.
As would be expected, too much fire may not always be a positive thing. It’s important to eat this pepper responsibly, in small doses, in sauces, and mixed with other food. Too much of anything spicy can lead to gastrointestinal issues, a speedier heart rate, and difficulty breathing. We at YB can’t even harvest these pepper without a pair of gloves to avoid contact!
Case in point? These peppers are firey. They are HOT. They are potentially hazardous to your health but in the hands of the right chef or hot sauce connoisseur, our Ghost Peppers make for an unforgettably delicious experience.