In the true nature of “I’ll have what he’s having”, let’s take a trip away from particular establishments, and take a look at individual ingredients.
I have never shied away from spice and heat; in fact, I have gone out of my way to seek it out. As with most things that one consumes on a regular basis, a tolerance begins to form and the rush get’s sought out at higher levels.
I was first introduced to BhutJolokia, or the Ghost Pepper, while managing the Walnut Creek Yacht Club. Proprietor and Executive Chef Kevin Weinberg had been making his own Habanero Hot Sauce for years, and wanted to make a small batch of atomic sauce to push the envelope (another thrill seeker looking for the next level). He mailed away for the illustrious ghost pepper and the day it came was like Christmas in the kitchen. If we were going to touch it, we were required to wear gloves and quickly the $5 bets were flying around. Put it on your lips, nibble the stem, etc., we all had a great time testing the level of spice for the first time.
What is the BhutJolokia and where does it rank on the spice meter?
Also known as BihJolokia, U-Morok, Ghost Pepper, Red Naga, Naga Jolokia, and ghost chili, it is cultivated in India and certain parts of Hawaii. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world’s hottest chili pepper. The ghost chili is rated at more than 1 million Scoville heat units. The Habanero pepper is 100,000-350,000 scovilles and the Jalapeno is only 2,500-10,000. TheJolokia is still not the world’s hottest pepper. In 2011 a pepper called the Naga Viper Pepper was created as a hybrid of the three hottest peppers in the world and tops out at 1.382 million units!
Since that fateful day six years ago when I was introduced, I have seen the Ghost Pepper pop up in unsuspecting places. As fast as the world is moving these days and as numb to almost everything that media has made us, we seem to all be looking for some new thrill. In my head, I am repeating the melancholy quote, “I just want to feel something…”, but perhaps that it is a bit dramatic.
Restaurants are using the Ghost Pepper sparingly as an ingredient so they can oversell it on marketing. It is not uncommon nowadays to find Ghost Pepper Cheese on sandwiches. Norm’s Place in Danville has it on their Garden Burger and currently Eddie Papas in Pleasanton has a Southern Spicy Chicken Sandwich on their special menu that showcases the cheese! Just because the pepper is cased in the anti-agent (dairy) of spice certainly does not negate the effect. In fact, I was unaware that Norm was putting it on my “go-to” sandwich until half way through I found myself inexplicably using napkins for my running nose.
Even Ace Hardware in Alamo has gotten in on the action. They have a BBQ section that hosts a variety of rubs and sauces and a few of their selections have the, once illusive, Ghost Pepper as their marquis ingredient.
Shortly after my introduction to my new spicy friend, I became obsessed with learning as much as I could, and one of my more uncomfortable, yet highly entertaining moments came from watching people self inducing a Ghost Pepper Challenge to themselves on YouTube. In a couple of instances, people were taken to the hospital for eating as little as three of the one-inch firecrackers. Let the record show that generally when ingested orally, the Ghost Pepper will not create a medical condition, but rather induce a panic attack from the thought that your insides will never feel normal again. You will be fine, but uncomfortable, for a little while.
Go try ONE, but stop there!
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