Death
From Within.....


GHOST PEPPERS


Always on the lookout for interesting hot chili peppers, I came across a guy who was advertising fresh Naga Jolokia Peppers (Bhut Jolokia) or known more popularly by their street name, Ghost Peppers. These peppers were known for some time as the hottest pepper on the face of the earth at 1,000,000 Scoville units. Recent developments have shown there are hotter peppers out there but they are not readily available. To give an example there is a strain of hot peppers developed in late 2010 called the Naga Viper Pepper and then in February 2011 another strain the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Pepper at 1,464,700 Scoville units. The 1st place rank seems to trade back and forth but one thing for sure is somebody is going to get hurt eating them. No matter, any pepper over a millions Scovilles is going to be toxic to play with. For those of you non chili-heads, the heat of a pepper is measured by what we call the Scoville Scale. This is achieved by adding increments of sugar water to the pepper where you can no longer detect the presence of heat. A sweet green pepper would have no heat or capsaicin the active ingredient and thus have a 0 rating. A jalapeño is about 4,000 scovilles and my infamous wiri wiri pepper is about 200,000 scovilles units.

I had a lot of experience with the dried variety of the Ghost Pepper, but never a fresh one. This was something I want to test as there is so much of the flavour profile that you miss when you go to the dried powder. I was given the opportunity by Kyle Hayward from the Ottawa area to get my hands on the elusive fresh Ghost Peppers in relative close proximity to me, awesome I was excited. Somebody’s butt was going to be burning, and I mean burning bad. I emailed Kyle but the season had finished but he would keep me in mind for the next year. Time passed and next season arrived, June 2011, Kyle called and asked if I was still interested, just in time for my chili developing season. Are you kidding?

The plants would not be ready until late fall but there was plenty of time for me to see the plants develop. While the Ghost Peppers were being nurtured along, I got to chat with Kyle about his background as mine is an open book or in reality an open blog. Kyle was also excited to have his peppers get intertwined with the Black Pig BBQ.

Kyle first became interested in growing peppers a few years ago when he realized the variety of species that existed and the possibility of creating his own cultivars. Always being a bit of a horticulturalist, he ventured into hot peppers with his first two pepper species, Scotch Bonnets and Cherry Bombs. After a bountiful harvest his neighbors and friends were the beneficiaries of his work. Kyle ventured to create his own crop of fresh, hot and chemical free Jolokia peppers. After a laborious 5 months of indoor growth, the plants went outdoors to gain their characteristics’, flavour and of course heat. Utilizing a custom soil mix there was no need for chemical fertilization, pesticides or herbicides. All that was need was sun and loads of water. Kyle sent me a few photos of the ongoing progress of the plants and it was all I could do to contain my excitement. Imagine when Kyle sent out some Ghost Peppers to be taste tested by friends and family, everyone who tried them said they were the hottest they've ever tried.

The flavour has a hint of citrus and does not have the typical watery taste of a hot pepper. Out of the 250 fruits that ripened, 15-20 had a deep purple coloring. The will be very exciting for him to use for breeding stock over the next couple of years. With Kyle’s success this year he is starting “Hayward’s Custom Produce” while attending college for horticulture, duh go figure. This winter he will be fruiting plants indoors with hand pollination so that I can supply clients year round by the fall of 2012.

Now what I got in early October was about 250 little globes of death. Yes in the name of science and knowing your ingredients I tested one. Holy “what the hell was I thinking” moment. I hit the can of whipped cream and drank a quart of milk; that was just a ¼ slice. There was that euphoria moment and the endorphins were in full rush, WOW pay dirt. Then the moment came upon me, Good Lard Tunderin Jesus I’m hoping for a little less pain on the way out. Half of my stash went to sauce and the other half went to the dehydrator to sample another day. I wanted to compare what Kyle was producing to what I have sourced from the internet. By the way, the same heat that went in was the same heat out… Oh God this was a spiritual moment if there ever was one; why oh why do I do this to myself?

Most of the sauce is still fermenting but I have taken some out and provided for some taste test and those citrus tones and fruity underscores and a serious after burn. Good Lord this is not your store bought Tabasco Sauce, they should have called these Holy Ghost Peppers as every time you taste them you will have a spiritual moment. I dared tried some of my new Gost Pepper Sauce in a bowl of chili and does it skyrocket the taste beyond belief.

Good Job Kyle; I know where I’m going for my peppers next year. Call them Bhut Jolokia, Naga Jolokia or just plain Ghost Peppers they are top shelf eats. You can reach Kyle at

Kyle Hayward  ksrhayward@gmail.com
Haywards Custom Produce
613-875-6535

If he’s got them, you can get them.

Cheers from the Big Dog