Ghost Pepper Hit by Frost Turns to Hot Sauce to Open Up Sales

Original title: Changfeng "Ghost Pepper" Hit by Frost, Losses Heavy

Plantation owner turns the remaining peppers into hot sauce, hoping to recover some of the losses

A normal ghost pepper is much larger than one that has suffered frost damage.

When asked about the hottest chili pepper, people first think of China's facing-heaven chili, but next to the Indian ghost pepper, even the heat of China's facing-heaven chili has to yield. In Fumin Village, Shuangdun Town, Changfeng County, Hefei, nearly 200 mu of land is planted with the hottest chili pepper in the world. But with the snow and frost some time ago, half of the ghost peppers suffered frost damage and reduced yield, so farm manager Hu Jing had no choice but to turn the remaining peppers into hot sauce, hoping to recover part of the losses.

Ghost pepper is seven times hotter than facing-heaven chili

In Fumin Village, Shuangdun Town, Changfeng County, Hefei, led by Hu Jing, the reporter came to this greenhouse where the hottest chili pepper in the world is grown. The pepper seedlings that should have been lush green had all wilted after the frost, with only a few small pepper seedlings still bearing short, small red peppers.

The reporter picked up the remaining peppers on the ground and found that ghost peppers are somewhat smaller than ordinary peppers and do not smell spicy at all, appearing very ordinary. So just how spicy is the hottest chili pepper in the world? The reporter picked one and tasted it. Right after biting the tip of the pepper, there was a faint sweetness, but with a gentle chew of the teeth, an extremely strong spiciness stimulated the taste buds, gradually spreading through the whole head. The lips and mouth hurt from the heat, drool and tears flowed, and the whole body broke out in a layer of sweat.

Chen Qingquan, associate professor at the College of Agronomy of Anhui Agricultural University, told the reporter that the Indian ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, was originally grown in eastern India, and this is the only place in the province where it is grown on a large scale. "When tasting it, you may not feel the heat at first, but after about three or four seconds, the spiciness becomes stronger and stronger." In 2007 it was rated by Guinness as the world's hottest chili pepper, and according to the Scoville heat scale, the ghost pepper's heat exceeds 1 million.

Chen Qingquan explained that Scoville is a unit of heat, obtained by diluting chili juice until no spiciness can be tasted. 1 million units means the chili juice must be diluted 1 million times to completely neutralize the spiciness, while the heat of China's hottest Hainan facing-heaven chili is around 150,000 Scoville units.

Half a jin of seeds produced only a few seedlings

Hu Jing told the reporter that three years ago she came across news of the Indian ghost pepper in a newspaper. At that time there was no precedent for growing this pepper in China, and the seeds were still in the research stage, but she chose to take a gamble. "If you want to be the first to eat crab, you have to be a bit bold." So Hu Jing spent more than 6,000 yuan to buy half a jin of seeds from an agricultural research institute in Yunnan for experimentation.

After returning home, Hu Jing planted these seeds herself. Bit by bit, she carefully tended them according to the methods taught in books. But after more than 20 days, only a few small pepper seedlings had sprouted sparsely. "Half a jin of seeds, and only a few small seedlings grew. Spending so much money, not knowing what she bought, at the time I thought she had gotten into a pyramid scheme," said Hu Jing's husband.

Although only a few small seedlings grew, Hu Jing had mastered the method of growing ghost peppers, which gave her the confidence to keep planting. So this year, Hu Jing expanded the planting area to more than 60 mu. At the same time, she encouraged nearby residents to plant together. Currently in Shuangdun Town, Changfeng County, nearly 200 mu of land is planted with ghost peppers, and the peppers are mainly sold to restaurants and enterprises.

Frost damage cost nearly half the peppers

This summer, when the peppers gradually began to bear fruit, a sudden heavy rain flooded 20 mu of Hu Jing's planting land. "The ghost peppers had already taken shape, and the first crop was just about to be harvested, but all 20 mu of pepper seedlings drowned," said Aunt Ding, who is in charge of management at the farm.

They had originally hoped the remaining 40 mu of pepper seedlings would bear fruit smoothly, but after the heavy snow some time ago, taking advantage of the clear weather, Hu Jing opened the greenhouse and found that the pepper seedlings inside had almost all suffered frost damage overnight. Except for the pepper seedlings in the middle that were still green, all the other pepper seedlings had turned yellow from the cold.

According to Hu Jing's count, more than ten mu of ghost peppers suffered frost damage, with losses of more than 100,000 yuan. Seeing the villagers fill more than a dozen gunny sacks with the frost-damaged peppers from the field, Hu Jing was heartbroken. "The other growers are in much the same situation as me, with about half the peppers damaged, and the losses are all heavy."

Turning to hot sauce in hopes of recovering losses

In Hu Jing's plantation there is a large workshop, and the reporter saw more than twenty large earthen jars inside, all sealed with red lids. "Fresh peppers, if they can't be sold, can only be preserved by pickling, to keep their best flavor."

Hu Jing told the reporter that ghost peppers made into hot sauce taste better, and long fermentation and pickling also reduces the heat. Hu Jing said that after losing most of the ghost peppers, the only way to recover the losses was by pickling them into hot sauce. "Such a good pepper variety, I hope more people can taste it," Hu Jing said. (Morning News starred reporter Zhou Kun, text/photo)