Ghost pepper salt. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
The ghost pepper may be only the third hottest chili in the world, but India’s bhut jolokia still packs a formidable wallop. At Savory Spice Shop on Spring Street, fire eaters are stepping up to the counter to secure their stashes of ghost pepper salt, a blend that spice merchant Devin Carr says is the store’s bestselling item.
Carr says people use the spice, which is made at their facility in Denver, to give pizza, popcorn, omelets and veggies a fiery kick. Yet there’s more than heat in this smoky mix of kosher salt, ghost pepper and chocolate extract. The burn is balanced by what Carr describes as “the chocolate coming in at the very end.” A reporter tasting the spice put two flaky grains in his mouth, which made his lip numb and tongue burn (though not too bad) for 10 minutes.
At up to three times hotter on the Scoville scale than a habanero, ghost chilis were the burningest peppers on earth as recently as 2007. Since then, the Carolina Reaper (up to 2.2 million Scoville units) and the Trinidad Scorpion (up to 2 million) have been cultivated, both topping the ghost chili’s mere 1,047,427.
Ghost pepper salt is usually sold in 2- and 3.5-oz. jars, but a woman stopped in recently and ordered a pound. “She was moving to California and couldn’t stand to be without it,” Carr said. “I told her she could stop at the store in Denver, but she didn’t want to take a chance (that they wouldn’t have it).” 15 Spring St., Princeton. Phone: (609) 454-5627. Web: savoryspiceshop.com.
–Joe Emanski
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