3 years ago this month, a buddy gave me 3 ghost pepper plants. One died immediately. I've nursed the other 2 through 2 winters and summers (they're in large pots) and each summer I've said "If they don't give me any peppers this year, they're history!" Each year, blossoms, but not peppers even with me tickling the blossoms with a paintbrush at least once a day. This year, FINALLY!! I've got peppers! Don't exactly know what I'm going to do with them since they're so dang hot, but I feel very accomplished by getting them to produce.
It was ghost peppers that got me interested in gardening in the first place, a couple years ago. When I read that there was a new record holder for the title of "world's hottest pepper", I was immediately interested. Knowing I wouldn't be able to just go buy them at the local grocery store, I bought some seeds online and took up gardening. Agreed. There are very few uses for these things outside of chili and tear gas. A couple suggestions - take 1 ghost pepper, puree with a bunch of tomatoes, some onions, and a few jalapenos, and use it to make a chili that doesn't have any veggie chunks in it. Or, make chili as you normally would, but take your ghost pepper, thread with a needle and some fishing line, and tie it off to the handle of your chili pot so that you can remove it later. Your chili will take on the heat of the pepper, without any nasty surprise pieces of it floating around for some poor soul to bite into. NOTE - I've never tried either of these with ghost peppers, but I have tried both with habaneros. Both methods work with habaneros. Of course, peppers like this are great for drunken dares, too. There's always someone who will view it as a challenge to their masculinity, and to make them break down crying and heaving is just epic...
TXKajun, for future attempts like this, try a Q-tip swab, instead of a paintbrush. I've had some pretty good success with those, as they tend to hold the pollen long enough to transfer from blossom to blossom.
...or, cut one in half vertically, rub the "meat" of the pepper on the inside of your best friend or worst enemy's jock strap (or bra), and enjoy the fireworks.
It's been about a month since my ghost peppers started producing so I thought I'd give ya'll an update. I'm finally getting some that are ripening and turning red. I was very leery about trying one, needless to say. But, I finally got my courage up and took one on Wednesday night, cut it into quarters, chopped up one of the quarters into small pieces and had it on some rice and gravy. AWESOME!!!! I took the other 3 quarters, chopped them up, and finished them off on the rice and gravy. MORE AWESOME! The mouth burn isn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be. And they taste. Yes, actually have a taste to them. It's a wonderful flavor. I'm not sure if the lack of super killer heat is from the cross-pollination or from raising them indoors or why, but I'll take it. I've had 3 more since then. Plus, the next day, no "aftereffects" if ya'll know what I mean. Anywho, I love them!! Kajun
I took 3 of the ghost peppers a few cayenne peppers and a couple of hybrid cayenne/ghost and Hungarian wax/ghost peppers and sliced them up into large chunks, then put them into a small jar of vinegar. I'll give it about 3 or 4 months and then have some kick-butt pepper sauce for gumbo! Yummy! Kajun
I'm hoping to be successful with ghost peppers this year. Funny thing is, we don't do spicy foods here. I'm growing them mainly as a curiousity. And their potential as a weapon. I believe it's the seeds that actually contain most of the...capsicum(sp?), or whatever it is that gives peppers their 'kick'. The flesh has it too, it's just more concentrated in the seeds, or so I was told.
The seeds are the most evil part of the pepper, but the oils are also in the skin. I've been told that peppers get hotter during drought so if you water heavy they're milder. I have no idea if that's true or not but I'm skeptical. I can pull a dozen peppers off a single plant at the same time, and they'll range from meh to OMFG with the majority in the middle.
VHestin, I wasn't really sure why I was growing them for the last 3 years!! LOL It was one of those "Gee, I wonder if I can get these to produce" moments. My buddy gave me the plants and I started them out thinking maybe, possibly, sorta-coulda-woulda do some vinegar pepper sauce with a few of them. Then I tasted one! WOWZERS!! Yeah, I took out the seeds, but the flavor was world-class and it didn't blow my head off. Good luck! Be patient. Kajun
