Bhut Jolokia

So I know it is no longer the hottest chile on the planet. I don't really care about that. I became fascinated with the ghost chile a while ago due to the hype of it being the hottest. Sure, it is usually around three times hotter than a habenero, but the flavor is what interests me. I love a habenero for the flavor. So delightfully fruity and sweet. Of course, you have to take the heat with the sweetness, but that is merely a minor drawback. I am wondering if the ghost chile will be the same and I cannot wait to dig into the pepper to find out. Now off to find a recipe.

I purchased my pepper at the Ballard farmers' market from Alvarez Farms from Yakima. They usually have a large assortment of chilies and they are organic. With no time or luck finding a recipe, I went to an old faithful that Jennifer and I use with the habenero.  This recipe, which we drop the tortillas from (and the mint) is a great topping for vanilla ice cream. So after finally procuring a pint of ice cream, I made the sauce. Not before having a few bites of the chile raw of course. After the first bite (about one square cm of flesh), I felt it compared equally to the habenero. The second bit was a different story. I got the hiccups, and felt he heat in my upper sinus as well as my chest. Something I had not felt before. I quickly grabbed a spoonful of yogurt to mellow it, but it was too late. The sauce combined with ice cream however, was quite mellow with mild heat. Hard to place a definition on the taste of the Bhut Jolokia too. I though upon initial bite that it might taste like a cherry. But when laying down to sleep after eating it, I thought perhaps apricot? It had a sweet taste that reminded me of a tree fruit, although I could not place which one. Once in the pineapple sauce, it did not express flavor as well. Perhaps I didn't use enough?