ghost pepper
ghost pepper, (Capsicum chinense), small-fruited pepper in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. The ghost pepper is a cultivar of Capsicum chinense, as are spicy Scotch bonnet and habanero peppers.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Clade: Angiosperm
- Order: Solanales
- Family: Solanaceae
- Genus: Capsicum
- Species: C. chinense
See also list of plants in the family Solanaceae and list of herbs and spices.
The ghost pepper has an average of about 1 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on the Scoville scale, compared to a jalapeño with around 8,000 SHU or a habanero with up to 350,000 SHU. It was formally recognized as the world’s hottest chili pepper in 2007, though it was later superseded by the Carolina Reaper (with up to 2.2 million SHU) and other ultra spicy peppers.
- Also called:
- bhut jolokia
- Related Topics:
- Scoville scale
- chili pepper
The ghost pepper fruit is up to 8 cm (3 inches) in length, with a slight taper, and ripens from green to red. The texture of the skin is wrinkled and pocked. Given its superlative strength, the ghost pepper is not widely used in cooking, but it can be used fresh or as a spice made by drying and grinding the fruits. Like other chili peppers, it derives its piquant flavor from capsaicin and other capsaicinoids.