Naga Jolokia and Bhut Jolokia Peppers…This is the Pepper to end all other peppers. No other pepper on the planet earth comes close to the heat that this produces. In February 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Jolokia as the world’s hottest chili pepper.They are known as BHUT JOLOKIA, NAGA JOLOKIA, BIH JOLOKIA, AND GHOST PEPPER OR JUST NAGAS. The pepper is used as a spice in food or eaten alone. One seed from a Jolokia can sustain intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Extreme care should be taken when ingesting the pepper and its seeds, so as to not get it in the eyes. It is used as a cure for stomach ailments. It is also used as a remedy to summer heat, presumably by inducing perspiration. In northeastern India the peppers are smeared on fences or used in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance. It is more than 3 times hotter than the feared Habenaro pepper. So enjoy these peppers with extreme caution. In Stock Date 2/11/08. over ONE MILLION scoville units puts this pepper 3 1/2 times hotter than tha Habanero pepper THE HOTTEST KNOWN PEPPER IN THE UNIVERSE !!…………………

Addl. Info: Some people expect a huge rush of heat and intense burn as from extract which doesnt happen with the Jolokia. For some reason the heat builds for some time and is then a sustained burn over the course of an hour or so. We are trying to find a lab that can isolate the different capsaicin compounds so we can work out what is different about them but again it will cost. I believe they are different to bog standard habs due to the percentage of frutescens in their dna. It somehow alters the end result…………..
The pods are still the worlds hottest as the lowest reading we have ever had was 700,000SHUs which is pretty formidable and way above the red savina which they say has been exagerated all these years. Certainly eating a red savina and then a Jolokia side by side the immediate heat of the red savina appears hotter than the naga. But the naga keeps building in heat and reaches its peak up to 5 minutes later to kick bhut like a ghost pepper should! While the red savinas burn is descending at that point and dies off after 15 minutes. The naga is still going strong and can still be felt after 3/4 – 1 hour later. We grow both the red savina and the naga and have tested them on many occasions on the European public and watched the results. Some are starting to film people eating Jolokias at the chili festivals they are attending in August 2008 with a view to try putting them on our website when its finished.

I think the point is that the Jolokia is capable of reaching 1.5Mshu when environmental conditions allow and that there are so many variables involved. However the dried pods from Assam are all grown in a totally organic environment by small farmers across a vast area of land and will vary from pod to pod. We are advising the assamese growers on how to reach the upper heats this chilli is capable of

Jolokia are extremely hard to grow and we DO NOT recommend it for the novice grower/gardener.

SPECIAL JOLOKIA TIPS

Please read the how to start your seeds provided very carefully and closely follow the directions.
Jolokia require soil temperatures to be between 80 and 90 degrees F for proper germination. You may need to supply bottom heat with the aid of a propagation mat.
Soil must be kept moderately moist, never being allowed to completely dry out and never allowed to become soggy. This will destroy the embryo in the seed and they will not germinate.
The Jolokia can take up to 36 days just to germinate and have a very long growing period, up to 160 days before harvest.
Jolokia are extremely hard to grow and we do not recommend it for the novice grower/gardener.
After extensive field trials our analysis revealed that the variety possessed an extremely high heat level, 1,001,304 SHU. That’s a heat level you normally see only with ultra-hot sauces using pepper extract (capsicum oleoresin).Like the Habanero, Scotch Bonnet and Red Savina™, Naga Jolokia belongs to the Capsicum chinense family. This landrace chile originated in the Northeast of India, particularly Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and neighboring Bangladesh. Other names for this chile include Nagahari, Bhut Jolokia, Bih Jolokia, Borbih, Raja Mircha, Raja Chilli, Mirch, Mircha, Naga Moresh, Naga Morich, Tezpur, and quite recently Dorset Naga.(with possible slight differences). In their home country, Bhut Jolokia and Bih Jolokia are also spelled Bhwt Jolokiya and Bih Jolokiya respectively.

For many years, there was uncertainty about this particular chile pepper, some sources even listed cayenne-type peppers as Naga Jolokia or put it into the C. frutescens species. Eventually a field trial with comprehensive analysis by the NMSU Chile Pepper Institute (CPI) shed light on this cultivar.

Both Assamese growers and the Chile Pepper Institute found top heat levels around one million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), and the Chile Pepper Institute’s findings for Bhut Jolokia were even awarded the world record as the “hottest of all spices” by Guinness World Records (September 2006).

At the CPI test fields, ‘Bhut Jolokia’ grew to a height of 70 cm (+/- 7 cm) at maturity. In Assam, the typical height of Bih Jolokia plants is reported to range from 45 to120 cm. (1 cm = 0.4 “)…………………………………………………………………………………….RECIPE …………………. Super Hot Assam Curry Paste

This recipe is adapted from a recipe collected by England’s “King of Curries,” Pat Chapman. Use it in place of commercial curry pastes or powders.

1 dried Naga Jolokia pod, seeds removed, ground in a spice mill (wear a mask to avoid inhaling the powder)
4 tablespoons ground coriander
4 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons garam masala (Indian spice mix; available in Asian markets)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 ½ teaspoons ground fenugreek seeds
1 ½ teaspoons ground fennel seeds
1 ¼ teaspoons powdered ginger
1 ¼ teaspoons yellow mustard
1 cup water
½ cup white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
Mix the ground spices together. Add the vinegar and water and mix into a paste. Let stand for 15 minutes.

In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the paste (careful of the sputtering), lower the heat, and stir-fry for 5 to 10 minutes.

As the liquid is reduced, the paste will begin to make a regular bubbling noise (hard to describe, but it goes chup-chup-chup) if you don’t stir, and it will splatter. This is your audible cue that it is ready.

You can tell if the spices are cooked by taking the pan off the stove. Let stand for 3 to 4 minutes. If the oil ‘floats’ to the top, the spices are cooked. If not, add a little more oil and repeat.

Bottle the paste in sterilized jars. Then heat up a little more oil and ‘cap’ off the paste by pouring in enough oil to cover. Seal the jars and store. Properly cooked, it will last for months. If refrigerated, indefinitely.

Yield: About 1 cup

Heat Scale: Extremely Hot………………………………………………………………………………………………………………The origin of the Bhut Jolokia goes back hundreds of years and can be traced to the state of Assam in northeastern India. It was originally grown in this region as well as in areas of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
It is also called the following names-

Naga (Cobra snake) Jolokia in Sanskrit
Raja Mirchi (King of Chilis) Nai Miris (Cobra Chili) in Sri Lanka
Naga Morich (Cobra Chili) in Bangladesh
Oo-Morok (Tree Chili) in Manipur

It was not known to the Western world until around 2000.

On September 6, 2000 the Defense Research Laboratory (DRL) located in Tezpur, Assam, India published a report stating that it had achieved a new world record of 855,000 SHU (Scoville heat units) obtained from a Naga Jolokia pepper. The DRL utilized the original method of measuring the heat of peppers invented by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. This method of testing was disputed by several professors, and experts in the United States and other parts of the world. They stated that this type of testing was too subjective and the only recognized and accurate type of testing was High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) because it removes all subjectivity. The chili tested by the DRL was not recognized as the record holder because of this.

Bhut Jolokia seeds were brought to the United States to be planted and tested by members of the Chili Pepper Institute (CPI) located on the campus of the New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 2001. Because of poor fruit and seed set, it took several years to get an acceptable field trial. Finally in 2005, at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center (1.5 miles south of Las Cruces) seeds were started in a plant medium under strict control and guidelines utilizing man-made chemical fertilizers. Professor Paul Bosland of NMSU was in charge and finally in the Fall of 2006, success was achieved. The Bhut Jolokia was confirmed as the world record holder by Guinness, and in February, 2007 it was official. Rated at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), it bested by almost 2 times the old record holder the Red Savina Habanero…………………………………………………………………
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If you would like to Rehydrate the Dried jolokia Pods: ……….Place pods in a bowl. Pour just enough boiling water over the pods to cover them. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rest for approx. 10 minutes, or until
dried peppers are soft and pliable. For a more intense, toasty flavor, use a spatula to press the dried pod in a hot skillet (no oil or liquid) until you see a little wisp of smoke rise, turn over the pods and repeat on other side. Then, proceed with directions above for rehydrating.

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