Yellow Ghost pepper: lab-tested Scoville rating and flavor
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The Yellow Ghost in our Ghost Kit tested at 285,998 Scoville heat units (SHU). That is the mildest of the three ghost peppers in the kit and below our numbered ghost grinder: no. 5 Ghost tested at 417,166, so the Yellow Ghost came in at about 69 percent of it. On the SpiceQuest scale it sits between no. 4 Habanero at 171,446 and no. 5 Ghost.
Reading the number
285,998 is in our Hot tier, which runs from 100,000 to 349,999. Superhot starts at 350,000. It is about 1.7 times as hot as no. 4 Habanero, and a little below Peach Ghost at 321,199.
The lab figure is for one lot, and this one needs a plain word about ranges. The kit label gives 350,000 to 500,000 for Yellow Ghost. The lot we sent to the lab came in under that, at 285,998. Heat moves between harvests and batches of the same pepper, which is why the label carries a range, and the lab number is the honest result for the lot we tested. The flakes in the SpiceQuest chili grinder are pure pepper, with no salt and no preservatives, and the number comes from an HPLC lab test. Our lab-tested Scoville chart has every result.
Citrus first, then the heat
Yellow Ghost is a yellow-ripening form of the ghost pepper. The pod goes from green to a lemon yellow instead of red. The flavor is brighter than the red: citrus and tropical fruit up front, with less smoke and less earth. The heat builds fast once it starts and finishes cleaner than the red.
Try it on grilled chicken, white fish, shrimp tacos, a ceviche or anything with lime. Start with one press. How the three colors differ is in Red vs. Yellow vs. Green Ghost.
Who it suits
Yellow Ghost is sold in the Ghost Kit with Red Ghost and Green Ghost, each in its own SpiceQuest push-button grinder. The product page shows whether it is available.
It suits someone who finds habanero easy and wants a ghost pepper with a lighter, fruitier taste. Of the three in the kit, it is the one to open first.
Questions people ask
Is the Yellow Ghost as hot as a red ghost pepper? Not in our tests. The Yellow Ghost tested at 285,998 Scoville units, the Red Ghost in the same kit at 527,676, and no. 5 Ghost at 417,166.
Why does the lab number sit below the range on the kit? The range covers the spread we expect across harvests. The lot we tested fell below it. We print the lab result as it came back.
How does it compare with a habanero? It is hotter. No. 4 Habanero tested at 171,446, so the Yellow Ghost is about 1.7 times as hot.