I ate the end off of one. Once. Don't recommend it. That being said, they are very useful peppers. They are good in pickles, hot sauces, salsas, pepper jelly, chili. You name it. Very versatile peppers. The bonus is, if you want to make a batch of "hot," and really be able to call it hot - you can use only a few Bhuts whereas you'd have to use ten habs.

I agree with simsedward. Do not do it. I crushed up one pod on a pizza and was regretting it. With the superhots, you have to use them in cooking, and use in moderation. Probably more moderation than you are used to. I got some 7-pot powder from someone and added 1/4 teaspoon to a small pot of chili. I had to add 2 lbs of ground beef and two cups of ketchup and it was still damn hot. Be careful with these things. They are scary hot. But its fun to grow some of the hottest chiles in the world.

have not and don't plan on it any time soon. Saw a pretty funny video of some Norwegians eating the Naga Morich and they looked like they were in pain but keeping their head pretty well.

I often wonder why so many people grow them. Do they actually add a flavor to food since you use so little, or just heat?

I love hot peppers and cooking with them but generally like to be able to use enough to add some flavor to dishes along with the heat.

Ania

Ania, I am with you on this one. I like peppers for the flavor they add to dishes, but I don't want heat, just for the sake of heat. Okay, having said that, it is fun to test ones-self.

LOL. i never ate of one those yet. As a matter fact i dont think i hate a whole pepper in one shot hotter then a Jalapeno. I have taken sample bites off of fresh picked peppers that have lots of heat just to test em out and that good enuff for me, lol.

The hotter and superhot peppers yes, they do add HEAT to any dish and also the different types of those peppers DO have different flavor profiles.

Am i gonna eat a whole Bhut? Probably not, unless there was some money on the line or i was drunk and some challenge was issued.

Use them as needed in yer cooking and im sure you'll love em.

i have, once, feel no need to do so again... i do conduct a hot pepper eating contest each year where several people eat them to varying degrees of entertainment... google "hawk hollow hot pepper eating" to find evidence of those...

i do make useful sauces from them though...

Yeah...I ate a piece of dried Bhut last year, and it was gawdamned uncomfortably hot.
I've tried Caribbean Red and Chocolate Habanero pods fresh, and they were plenty hot, too.

Josh

I've never chomped on one, but have eaten small pieces several times. Usually its about an inch long and 1/4 inch wide, but once ate a piece twice the size. The main problem I have with eating them raw is that they really burn my stomach. I can handle the pain in my mouth, but not when my stomach starts to burn.

I'm a high school teacher, and one day in 2008, I brought in a basket of fresh chilis from my garden. It contained a cup full or chiltepins, a bunch of cayenne, some hot paper lantern, and a bunch of Bhut Jolokia. A student in my studyhall asked about them, and then a Chinese student (referring to the chiltepin) said "I bet I could eat that." He did, and the next thing I knew, I had ninth grade boys (and a few girls too) lining up to become members of the Chili Pepper Club. The only rule is you have to eat them without freaking out, and without milk. The students who ate the chiltepin earned JV status, and those who ate the Bhut Jolokia earned Varsity. I generally cut the tip off because it is not nearly as hot. I remove the seeds from the top portion, and that's the part we eat. Every year, students as me if we're going to have chili pepper club again. It's great! I haven't had much in the way of Bhut Jolokias the past two years, so the Varsity status has required lesser peppers like chocolate habanero or fatalii, but it's still a lot of fun.

Hey, Preston, same here!

I brought in some Thai chiles and tomatoes from my garden to share with the teachers with whom I eat lunch.
Earlier in the day, however, a bunch of guys and one girl(mixed grades) thought they'd be tough and try some
peppers. A minute later, their mouths were stinging and I was having a good laugh.

If I had any hotter peppers, I'd need to have them sign a waiver.

Josh

PrestonFarmer: First of all that sounds like a lot of great fun. But I have a couple questions: 1) do you get parental permission? 2) If not, are you ever worried that a parent might have an issue with their kid eating one and 3) What if the kid had a REALLY bad experience?

With the litigious society these days, I would have to think twice about something like that. Even though, I personally think it is a great thing to do each year for those who volunteer. I hope you film the little Chili Pepper Club festivities. It would make some great memorabilia for the students at their end of year festivities as well as the year book and then for you, it would records some great memories long after you reach your retirement years.

I grow Bhut Jolokia's to make hotsauce, it's great HOT and full of flavor. I use on just about everything they truly have a frutiy flavor. I do dry and use crushed pepper flakes. Cooking with or adding to food is best. Eating by itself especially the whole pepper pod not recommended HOT!!! Probably won't try that again. Only thing is with eating the super hot's, is now the Jalape�o taste like table black pepper LOL

I've eaten them...most at once was a 1/2 pepper and that was more than enough. Now I use them wisely - hot sauces, powders, in moderation in some foods, etc. They have an awesome taste if you can get past the heat.

cooking, decoration, questionable cure for cancer, cure colds/sore throats/stomach aches, used a birdseed, juice can be made into spray to protect other plants from parasites.

I plan on using for eating one whole once a month

I've never worried too much about liability. I see your point though, so I should probably be careful about that.

I also forgot that I once ground a couple of them up and made a poultice for an arthritic knee. It provided a pretty good heat source. I came up with the idea after the episode I had the first time I processed Bhut Jolokia. Having never worked with anything hotter than an orange habanero, I used a food processsor to grind up about 3 or 4 quarts of the buggers for hot sauce- bare handed. By the time the heat really began to set in, it was too late. My hands felt like they had been acid burned. It hurt so bad I had trouble sleeping, and by morning was feeling better - until I stepped into the hot shower!

The next morning, hot water activated the burn again for an hour or so. I'll never make that mistake again. My wife won't even let me process them in the house because the fumes burn her eyes and throat. I have to do them in the garage.

PrestonFarmer. That is funny. I guess it wasn't too funny for you though at the time. I guess I better do my processing with some care. Probably outside too. My wife and daughter would probably not deal with the "fumes" too well.

it took me two days to get through one bhut. It was a painfully exhilarating weekend. My conclusion is that there are only two reasons to do so:

1. to build up your heat tolerance to superheat levels
2. its interesting to know what its like to eat the spiciest pepper on earth

the only problem with multiplying your heat tolerance is that if you cook something spicy, its bound to get too hot for everyone else.