Quick answer: Justin made salsa with dried Naga-Bih Jolokia peppers. The soaking water upset his stomach more than the heat impressed him. He still calls the flavor great and recommends them, but would rather grow peppers than keep buying dried ones.
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I was anxious to try these peppers because of all the hype about them, so I ordered 2 of these bags from the Chili Pepper Emporium. The first thing I made with them was salsa, I started with one chili to see how hot it was, I soaked it in warm water for awhile until it softened and diced it up and added it to my salsa. The next morning I tried it and it wasn’t very hot so I added 4 more. I soaked the chilis in hot water in a shot glass because I didn’t want them to lose any heat to the water. I decided to use as little water as possible to soak them in while still having them completely submerged. My first taste of the pepper was the shot of water they had been soaking in. It didn’t taste hot but it really screwed with my stomach. I took this salsa to work and ate it at lunch.
Personally I was disappointed by the level of heat. But it was pretty hot though, I warned everybody it was hot, but there were still people with bright red faces looking like they where about to cry. My boss accused me of trying to kill her. (Jokingly of course). The next week I made a second batch, and this time I ground about 5 or 6 peppers up in my coffee grinder (this is all its used for) and mixed it in. Both methods had about the same heat level, but the second one was easier. I will probably grind the rest of these peppers and use them as a seasoning on a large variety of foods.
All in all these peppers where very good. I think the heat level of them is over hyped, that’s why I was initially disappointed but they where hotter than my habs and had great flavor. I probably won’t buy them again anytime in the near future because they are to expensive. They are to expensive based on the fact that I grow all my hot peppers but was told that these are extremely difficult to grow in this area. I would love to try these fresh and if they ever started selling them somewhere local I would definitely use them quite a bit.
Buying info: I got these at www.chilipepperemporium.com I checked if they still had some in stock and was told 15 packages left as of July 23 2007. The website on the package is chillipepperpete.com. I checked it out and it is still in business selling these same packages. www.Chilipepperemporium.com is 40 percent off because they are going out of business, so I’d suggest trying there first.
Heat: Officially the hottest pepper in the world so I guess it has to be a 10 right? Just keep in mind that it is over hyped.
Flavor: great
Price: Depends on where you get them, since I’m reviewing something that’s sold by a lot of different company’s and brand names I really cant say.
Recommendation: Would I buy them again? Like I said above, it’s not worth it to me to buy peppers when I can grow them myself and I can’t grow these around here so I probably won’t buy them again unless they start selling them locally somewhere that I can get a better price and not have to pay shipping. As far as recommending them, definitely.
Shop similar dried ghost peppers (Bhut Jolokia / Naga) on Amazon: Unpretentious dried ghost peppers (25 count).
Frequently asked questions
How did Justin prepare the dried nagas?
He soaked them in a shot glass of hot water until soft, then diced them into salsa. The soaking water itself upset his stomach.
Would he buy dried nagas again?
Probably not unless they were sold locally without shipping, because he can grow other peppers himself.
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Written by Justin
10 responses to “Review: Dried Naga-Bih Jolokia Peppers”
”Why buy when you can grow?”- that’s my motto.
The names of these “new” pepper confuse me. Bih, Buht, Morich, Dorset, Naga, Jolokia… But it sounds like any combination of these words represents the same species? strain? variety? Huh?
All I know is I have a very nice looking plant full of “buht jolokia” fruit at home, and I can’t wait for them to ripen…
Hey Justin, nice review. I think you are giving up on these pepper’s heat too early. I can see where the disappointment may come from since you only got to try them dried. They lose all their juices and much of the oils, plus if you were commercially havesting them you would probably choose the best peppers to sell fresh and dry whatever is left.
Ethan, talk to Jim about the various names when you’re at Jungle Jim’s this weekend. He told me the other night that there’s roughly 20 names for the same pepper for whatever reason.
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yea, i would love to try them fresh i thought maybe jungle jims would have them but no luck. i think they have good heat, i was just expecting more from all the talk, i was expecting more the kinda heat you can only get from the hotter extract sauces. i will keep my eye out for a chance to try them fresh.
I’ve tried several batches of Naga Jolokia from scorchio.co.uk – the things are lethal. Habs pale in comparison to the heat, maybe it was an off batch?
Hi everyone, I haven’t tried the Bih Jolokai yet but Im getting close, I ordered the seeds a few months ago and my bush is starting to flower, I can’t wait! The hottest things we have around here are Thai Chillies so my mates are in for a big surprize!
is there anywhere one can buy these fresh? Dried peppers are fairly worthless in my opinion. I tried to grow some, had two dozen seeds but not one sprouted. They didn’t do anything, although everything else I planted sprouted and grew.
Hi Daren
Try Link – Great range of chillies you should get what you need there.
KK
hi we make a hot sauce out of naga bhut jolokia peppers called hells inferno and have it in ground . about aug. 2008 i will have fresh and dry pods. 2wo more sauces comming out soon. tom/dawn