Ghost pepper plants

Bhut jolokia. The pepper that broke a million SHU and started the arms race.

By Debra Austin

Species: Capsicum chinense

What a ghost pepper is

Ghost pepper is the English name for bhut jolokia, a Capsicum chinense from Assam and the northeast of India. In 2007 it was certified as the hottest pepper in the world at just over one million SHU, the first pepper ever measured past that mark.

Plenty have passed it since, including Carolina Reaper and Dragon's Breath, which its creators claim reaches about 2.48 million SHU.

The pod is thin-walled, dimpled and pointed, three inches or so, and it comes in red, yellow, peach, chocolate and white. It is also, genetically, a natural hybrid: mostly chinense with frutescens in it.

Ghost against reaper

A Carolina Reaper is roughly twice as hot and hits immediately. A ghost is slower: the burn arrives thirty seconds late and then keeps climbing for several minutes, which is what catches people out on video.

Flavour separates them too. Ghosts carry a genuine sweetness under the heat that survives cooking, which is why they turn up in curries and sauces where a Carolina Reaper would just scorch everything.

How hot a ghost pepper is

Bhut jolokia was certified around 855,000 to 1,041,427 SHU. That is superhot. The plants we list live in that world. A naga is the related name from the same region. We do not have a naga listed. The page for it explains the difference.

Cooking with ghost peppers

Curries and sauces, where the sweetness under the heat is worth the wait. The burn arrives half a minute late. That delay is how people overdo it. Gloves. One pod seasons a pot, not a spoon.

Growing them

Treat a ghost as a long-season chinense: slow to germinate, slow to fruit, hungry for warmth, and worth a five gallon pot at least. Pods ripen 100 days or more after transplant and the plant keeps going until something stops it.

Handle the pods with gloves and do not rub your eyes. That advice sounds obvious right up until you ignore it once.

The Ghost Peppers we grow

Questions people ask

How hot is a ghost pepper?

Bhut jolokia measures around 855,000 to 1,041,427 SHU, superhot by any scale. It was the first pepper certified past one million.

Is a ghost pepper hotter than a Carolina Reaper?

No. A Carolina Reaper averages roughly twice the SHU. The ghost's heat arrives later and builds longer, which is why it feels relentless.

What does ghost pepper taste like?

Sweet and slightly smoky under the heat, which is why it works in cooking rather than only in challenges.

What colours do ghost peppers come in?

Red is standard. Yellow, peach, chocolate and white forms all exist and are the same species.