Yep, never once did I cut into a bhut this year and not wind up with a burn some place....I wont go into the details. Seems like no matter how careful you are, it is impossible to no get some of the capsicum somewhere on a sensitive area. You certainly have a lot of company in your misery.
Bruce

I don't screw around with the super-hots, myself.

I do harvest my hotter peppers (such as serrano) with a good sized "handle" of stem attached to the pepper, though. It's not perfect, but it's decent-enough for cutting up the not-so-super-hots without hand protection.

Edymnion,

Welcome to the club, we've been waiting for you ;-)

Bill

I'm confused... Rubber gloves to cut Bhuts?

I generally cut them without gloves and pull the seeds/membrane out by hand.

I can lick my fingertips for days and still get a good tingle going. :)

It does make it more important to pay attention when wiping my eyes or using the bathroom, but it's worth it... LOL

Seriously, you just need to get acclimated to the heat. First time I tried some Bhut laced hot sauce I was in pain for more than half an hour. Now I use the same sauce mixed into cream cheese spread on a Jalapeno bagel for breakfast.

The biggest advantage is actually being able to appreciate the flavors that some of the "super hots" really have to offer.

I am fairly new to this forum and have noticed with a smile some of the comments regarding handling of hot peppers. I have been making pepper sauces with hots and super hots for some time, but I never touch the cut pepper. My method for cutting them up is to hold them by the stem over whatever container I will use for grinding (magic bullet/food processor) and I cut them with a small pair of kitchen scissors. For cleanup, the scissors and my hands are washed with dish soap, with a milk rinse, which gets the 'heat' completely off. This also works for slicing Jalapenos and Hungarian Wax for pickling. Just thought I would offer this idea.

Some people view "getting acclimated to the heat in peppers" in the same realm as "getting used to being beaten by a woman wearing full-body leather in the bedroom."

It can be done, but it's not for everyone.

There's more to getting used to than the hands/mouth/eyes/etc. troubles...there's the trouble some can run into 6-12-24 hours later in the bathroom, too.

-shudder-

You guys and gals have fun with your super-hots. I'll be taking care not to get serrano oils on me while you dudes laugh. hehe...

Honestly,
the mouth gets used to the heat pretty quick.
It's the gut that still gets me....raw, brutal ache as the pepper hits the stomach at the fundus.
Thankfully, that pain usually only sits with me for about 15 - 20 minutes. The "day after burn"
hasn't really affected me....certainly not the way that some folks describe. And thank G-d!

I have heard that a glass of Metamucil will dramatically improve the day after experience.
Haven't tried it, myself.

Josh

funny... "these are NOT a toy" is exactly what i tell my farmer's market customers about the bhuts...

Actually, in Mejico where chiles are part of the cuisine, rarely do you find superhots.

Maybe in salsa fresca at cantinas in the Yucatan, Tabasco and Campeche, but they will have habaneros.

Yep, many a time have I been to a Mexican restaurant or burrito shop and been told that I should order
the "gringo" salsa - a suggestion at which I laugh. Then, during the meal, I see the cooks/employees peeking
out at me, expecting some sort of major reaction. But they don't get it. Habaneros, especially when cooked
into a dish or sauce, just aren't that hot. And Habs are about the hottest pepper that the local Latinos use
in their cooking.

Josh

AH SON OF A !

Saw some stuff on using an algae based gel to grow plants in, figured I'd give it a try with hydro crystals and some dilute miracle grow solution.

Got some of my harvest bhut seeds from last week off the window sill, mixed it all up, "planted" them in shot glasses, everything was going swimmingly.

Then I went to pee.

SUNNOVA CRAP!

In hindsight, its rather obvious that the bhut seeds I pulled straight out of the pepper flesh and put on a paper towel to dry would also be insanely hot. But they didn't smell hot, and it just didn't occur to me.

Until now.

This is the SECOND time this has happened to me this season! I'm even dumber than I look (if thats possible)!

It's all about acclimation. My wife and I are avid hot sauce eaters, but after I grew some habs, carribean reds, and bhuts, we were afraid to touch these. Initially we used gloves, and treated them as if they were poison ivy. We did start putting them in sauces, then sliced on salads and salsas. We have gotten used to them. We never had a major incident. I have rubbed my eyes a bit and it hurt a bit for a few minutes, but not "I wanna die" moments. We are now becoming casual with them and cut without gloves etc. They don't even burn hands at all once you are used to them. It's like the tolerance you get in your mouth also affects your tolerance over the rest of your body.

Best thing about the tolerance is that we now taste the incredible flavor of the Bhuts, which are our favorites. We found they are great in just about anything, including Bloody Caesars. I think I will just grow Bhuts next year for super hots.

Tell u what, I can handle heat quite well but no thanks to habs and bhoots.
I look for flavor more than heat and I find that flavor in thai dragon hot and Italian mild peppers, absolutely love my sauces and curries.

I wear gloves while cutting these up to put in salsa at a restrauant. Got some strange looks!

behlgarden: Too bad, you are missing the best tasting peppers out there. Habs and Bhuts have an incredible complex flavor profile you don't see in the milder varieties. I used to think they were all heat, no flavor, until I got used to their heat, and realized the superhots are also the varieties with the most flavor. IMHO.

I couldn't agree with Capoman more!
Well said.

Josh

Heh, sorry, all I taste in them is soul searing pain.

Eat them for a couple months and you'll find flavor country.

:D

ok guys, please, tell me, or try to, what do bhuts taste like? I grew some this year, but they ended up with no heat..NONE! then I read the label on the seeds "craigs strain"... I ordered bhuts, not craigs strain... oh well. Thing is, I have tried habs several times (grew them around 20 yrs ago when I first saw the seeds advertised). Tasted one, hated it... to me, they just have a nasty flavor (and I truly can not put my finger on what it tastes like to me). I grew some choc ones this year, same nasty flavor.

SO guys, do bhuts taste like habs? if not, try to describe their flavor.

Intense burning, followed by intense pain, with a distinct aftertaste of soul scarring fear of ever being in the same room with one ever again. ;)

but tell me Edymnion what do you really think of the bhut? ;-)

that doesn't give me much insight into the flavor. ;-)

kuvaszlvr,

It all depends upon your palate.

Some folks (me included) taste a unique fruity flavour. Others describe the taste as chemically.

You'll probably know what camp you fall into when you cut one open and smell it.

FWIW,

Bill

I'm just glad the Aji Dulce 2 and Jimmy Nardello exist...as far as thin-walled, high-flavor, and low-heat options go. They're really handy in pepper flake/power mixes for those of us that don't like the super-hots, but want some of that unique flavor beyond the heat.

nc-crn,

Exactly, that's why I love growing peppers, there's always one or two or three or 100 that that any one person can enjoy.

It's not a contest for eating the sweetest, mildest, hottest etc. It's finding what you like and enjoying it.

JMHO

A friend of mine gave me a jolokia from his garden. He gave me ample warning, so when he gave it to me, I took a respectful little nibble just to confirm it was freakin' hot. Not sure what to do with it, I left it on the kitchen counter. A few days later I absentmindedly took a bite...not a nibble, a bite. My diaphragm immediately started to dry-heave to try to eject the poison! Turning red, smoke coming out of the ears or the arse and all that doesn't phase me a lot. But I have never had anything be so hot my body tried to puke. That is one hot pepper!

I kinda know what you mean yukkuri kame. For some reason my body starts hiccuping sometimes when I eat something hot. And there's no consistency to it... That's one reason I am afraid to try a bhut, I fear my body will take it to the next level. One time in the office I ate a Chinese 5 color on an empty stomach (and they aren't that hot) and I started hiccuping and the women at the door thought it was hilarious. I didn't see the humor in it. ;-)