First Bhut Jolokia Taste Test of 2016

The Bhut Jolokia that I’ve got growing finally produced enough ripe fruit to warrant another harvest and drying session. And as a novice pepper gardner, it was previously the hottest plant that I’ve grown thus far — that is no longer the case with my Carolina Reaper sitting right next to it. At any rate, I decided to do a quick sampling taste test as I was prepping it for the new dehydrator.

The particular pod that I sampled was the largest of the three that I picked, sitting about two inches in length and just over one inch at its widest. As with most of these peppers it was pretty blistered and bumpy with that paper-like (or as my kid says, plastic) texture.

Cutting this thing open revealed a good amount of oil and a thick placenta that ran nearly the entire length of the pepper. The aroma as expected is pungent, fruity and floral, filling my dining room quickly.

I removed about a square quarter inch piece for sampling — just to get the flavor (and not destroy myself too early in the morning) and started chewing. The heat arrived quickly after a brief delay, eventually settling into a full tongue burn. This one has tremendous flavor with plenty of fruity notes and a strong floral character. I do love the flavor of these things.

The rest of the pepper and about a dozen other pods are currently drying as my tongue slowly returns to its normal state of, well, not burning. I can’t wait to start sprinkling dried and crushed Bhut on just about every meal over the next several months..