The Bhut Jolokia is an pepper that produces an intense amounts of heat, and the Bhut Jolokia is a pepper that require careful handling. Many people view the Bhut Jolokia as a highly potent pepper because the Bhut Jolokia contain a high concentration of capsaicin. Capsaicin is the chemical compound in peppers that create a sensation of heat in the body.
The Scoville scale is a measurement use to determine the concentration of capsaicin in a pepper, and the Scoville scale allows a person to understand the difference in heat levels between different type of peppers. For example, a bell pepper has a very low Scoville rating, but a Bhut Jolokia has a very high Scoville rating. Because the Bhut Jolokia has a high Scoville rating, the Bhut Jolokia is much hotter then a jalapeño or a habanero.
Bhut Jolokia Pepper: Heat, Growing and Cooking Safely
The color of a Bhut Jolokia pepper does not always indicate the level of heat in the Bhut Jolokia pepper. A Bhut Jolokia pepper can be red, orange, white, or chocolate in color, but the ripeness of the pepper or the specific cultivar of the pepper often just determines the color of a Bhut Jolokia pepper. You should not assume that a red Bhut Jolokia pepper is hotter than a yellow Bhut Jolokia pepper, because the heat of a Bhut Jolokia pepper come from the capsaicin and not from the color of the pepper.
Growing Bhut Jolokia plants require specific environmental conditions because Bhut Jolokia plants requires heat and consistent warmth to grow. You must provide the Bhut Jolokia plants with balanced soil and steady sunshine so that the Bhut Jolokia plants can reach maturity. The Bhut Jolokia plants takes several months to produce pod, so you must be patient when you are growing Bhut Jolokia plants.
When you handle Bhut Jolokia peppers, you must use safety equipment because capsaicin is an oil. Capsaicin is an oil that will stick to you’re skin and can cause pain if capsaicin touches your eyes. You should wear nitrile gloves when you are chopping Bhut Jolokia peppers, and you should also wear a mask when you are working with Bhut Jolokia peppers.
If capsaicin touches your eyes, it will cause significant pain, so you must use gloves to prevent capsaicin from touching your skin. There are many way to use Bhut Jolokia peppers in cooking. You can use Bhut Jolokia peppers to make hot sauce, and you can grind Bhut Jolokia peppers into powders to use in dry rub.
You can also ferment Bhut Jolokia peppers in brine to make pickle. Because the Bhut Jolokia pepper is very hot, you must use the Bhut Jolokia pepper in small amount so that the heat of the Bhut Jolokia pepper does not overwhelm the food. If you consume too much heat from a Bhut Jolokia pepper, you should not use water to wash your mouth.
Water does not remove capsaicin because capsaicin is an oil, and water does not mix with oil. Instead, you should use dairy products like milk or yogurt because dairy products contain protein that can bind to capsaicin. Dairy products help to pull the capsaicin away from your heat receptors, and dairy products help to reduce the sensation of heat in your mouth.
Additionally, you can eat bread or ice cream because bread and ice cream can help to absorb the heat from the capsaicin in your mouth.