Bhut Orange Copenhagen
Also known as BOC · Bhut Jolokia Orange Copenhagen · Orange Copenhagen
Bhut Orange Copenhagen (BOC) is a Danish Capsicum chinense superhot selected around 2009 for its bright orange wrinkled pods, exceptional citrus-fruity flavor, and heat in the 600,000–1,000,000 SHU range.
Growing
~90 days to maturity
Fruit size
6–8 cm
Flavor & Use
Bright citrus and tropical fruit notes with orange or mandarin character; notably less bitter than many other orange Bhut Jolokia types and highly aromatic.
Culinary
About
An orange variant of the Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper), the Bhut Orange Copenhagen produces shorter, wider, chubby and wrinkled pods that mature from green to a vibrant golden-orange. Selected by Søren Friis Larsen in Hørsholm, Denmark, starting around 2009 from orange fruits on Bhut Jolokia-related plants and refined over generations with Bjarne Højlund, it is prized for a cleaner, less bitter fruity-citrus taste compared to other orange ghosts. Plants grow 90–120 cm tall and are prolific, maturing relatively early for a chinense at about 90 days. The peppers are excellent for sauces, salsas, jams, drying, and powder, delivering high heat with complex flavor.
Backstory
Selected and stabilized around 2009 in Hørsholm, Denmark (near Copenhagen) by chili enthusiast Søren Friis Larsen from orange-fruited plants related to Bhut Jolokia, possibly a mutation or cross. Refined over successive generations of selection for flavor, heat and vigor in collaboration with Bjarne Højlund; the variety was later trademarked and shared with growers as Bhut Orange Copenhagen (BOC).
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
Bhut Orange Copenhagen is a selection of Ghost Pepper.
Søren Friis Larsen · 2009
Larsen’s interviews and a 2013 breeder email both say one orange plant appeared among ten Bhut Jolokia seedlings in 2009 and was selected, not crossed. Højlund’s catalog and independent seed lists treat it as that Ghost off-type; a habanero second parent is only a newspaper guess.