World’s spiciest chilli, Pepper X, trumps Carolina Reaper with 2.6 million Scoville units (video)
Pepper X has been officially recognised as the world’s spiciest chilli by Guinness World Records, scoring a scorching 2.693 million on the Scoville Heat Units scale, a measure of chilli heat. This chilli outshines its predecessor, the Carolina Reaper, with a spice rating of 1.64 million Scoville units.
Pepper X is the creation of Ed Currie, founder of PuckerButt Pepper Company in the United States, a renowned cultivator of record-breaking chillies. Currie also developed the Carolina Reaper, which held the world record for the hottest chilli a decade ago.
For comparison, a jalapeno registers 5,000 Scoville units and the Habanero chilli, which held the record about 25 years ago, rates at 100,000 Scoville units. Currie revealed that after tasting Pepper X, the intense heat lasts in the mouth for over three and a half hours.
“It was three and a half hours in the bathroom… It was brutal.”
Pepper X’s journey to recognition began in 2017 when Currie first submitted it to Guinness. It has taken four years for the record-keeping authority to verify the chilli’s heat level, which is nearly twice as hot as the Carolina Reaper.
Currie’s creation of Pepper X is not just for bragging rights. He’s also using it to develop a new hot sauce called The Last Dab, which has been featured on the YouTube series Hot Ones, where celebrities attempt to eat spicy wings.
Despite the extreme heat, Pepper X is not just about creating a painful experience. Currie explains that the chilli is designed to have a fruitier, more rounded flavour than its predecessors.
“Pepper X is three times hotter than any other peppers that are out there available commercially… It’s twice as hot as the Reaper at 1.6 million, so this is a dangerous pepper.”
Despite its formidable heat, Pepper X has already found a place in the culinary world. It’s the main ingredient in The Last Dab hot sauce, which is used in the final round of the popular YouTube show, Hot Ones. Even though the sauce is incredibly spicy, it’s described as having a sweet, fruity flavour that masks the intense heat that follows.
While Currie is pleased with the recognition, he is already working on growing an even hotter chilli. His goal is not just to break records, but to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with chilli cultivation.
He believes that the future of food could be shaped by the development of crops that can thrive in adverse conditions, like extreme heat or drought – much like his record-breaking chillies.
“I’m not a masochist… But someone has to push the limits, you know? We’re looking for peppers that don’t just have heat but have flavours that change. We’ll find a way to use them.”
While the thought of a chilli hotter than Pepper X might be unimaginable, in the world of extreme chilli cultivation, the heat is always on, reported Sanook.
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