Christmas cactus blooming and Bhut Jolokia pepper taste test

The so called "Christmas cactus" is in full bloom before Thanksgiving. We put it outdoors last summer shaded from the afternoon hot sun by a maple tree and despite the pale looking plant parts it obviously has thrived. This is the most blooms it has produced since we first bought it several years ago.


The long awaited Bhut Jolokia Taste Test.

Well, I finally worked up the courage to give the world's hottest pepper a taste. I was cutting the peppers in half this weekend to speed the drying and cut a small sliver the size of 1/2 a grain of long grain rice. I popped it into my mouth and almost immediately spit it out as I could feel the burn happening. The burn continued to migrate to every part of the mouth so I'm glad I didn't try a larger piece or kept it in longer. The burn lasted a good 10-15 minutes. I made sure I cut the piece out of the wall of the pepper and not the placental membrane to which the seeds are attached - purported to be the hottest part of the pepper.

So it lives up to its reputation even when grown in less than ideal conditions in New Jersey. I would guess that smaller than grain of rice piece of Bhut Jolokia was the equivalent of a whole tiny round chilipiquin pepper. It also tastes much like a Habanero.

Interestingly, although the NMSU The Chili Pepper Institute mentions that the Bhut Jolokia pepper produce only very few seeds, but the peppers I grew have about 30 seeds in each pod. I expected about 5 seeds for each pod after reading the TCPI article.