Posted on 12/27/2013 9:07:41 AM PST by JoeProBono
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the hottest peppers in the world are the Carolina Reaper peppers grown in South Carolina by Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Co.
Currie spent more than four years working with students at Winthrop University to alter a sweet hot pepper from the Caribbean and give it more zip. During tests at Winthrop, the Reaper averaged just shy of 1.6 million Scoville Heat Units. To put that in perspective, a standard jalapeno pepper registers around 5,000 on the Scoville scale.
The previous record holder, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper, was measured by New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute with a mean of more than 1.2 million Scoville Heat Units.
Those are just the averages…
The hottest batch of Currie's peppers, code named HP22B -- Higher Power, Pot No. 22, Plant B -- clocked in at 2.2 million on the Scoville scale.
Currie sells Carolina Reaper seeds and hot sauces on the PuckerButt Pepper website. With names like “I Dare You Stupit” and “Purgatory,” Currie makes it fairly obvious he isn’t kidding about the heat.
This warning also helps to clarify that it might be wise to think twice before trying one of these sauces at home:
“After touching or handling hot peppers always remember to wash your hands with a product containing acidity such as lime or lemon juice. Some of our peppers are smokin’ hot and if not properly handled will temporarily damage skin tissue. When sharing your hot peppers with others, please let them know to use with caution.”
I like spicy food as much as just about anyone, but this race to create the world’s hottest chili pepper is getting ridiculous. As it is, I’ve subjected myself to plenty of discomfort simply by using store-bought habaneros.
Ping.
Yeah seriously, who would ever eat that?
sheesh! what can you do with it? i cooked a quarter of a habanero, which only falls 100,000 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale, and i choked my family out of the house... and we like heat in our food...
It’s a novelty, an I-dare-you sort of thing. Very few actually use them in cooking, and sparingly at that.
I really doubt that the Reaper is any hotter than the Cili found in the Philippines and other SE Asian areas.
I totally expect new peppers to start giving off visible light by the time they reach 5 million units. And somebody will before long.
I make a nice habanero pineapple salsa. I put two habaneros and four jalapenoes. Its yummy
I want the spray version.
I love a sprinkle of dried habenero flakes on a slice of garlic chicken pizza. Wonderful flavor.
any pepper or pepper sauce that requires a legal release and can’t be cooked without using a respirator mask with eye protection and neoprene gloves might not be a good idea.
True dat. This half-cajun boy stops at the habanero level of heat and deliciousness. Anything beyond that is another increase in endorphins. Now I grew up with Tabasco on the table and fiery gumbo and jambalaya, so I like the heat. mmm mmm mmm
Look at these peppers..1.5 million scoville units..
I'll stick with my jalapenos.
I like spicy food too but only to a point. I can’t understand why someone would be willing to eat something that’s so hot it could cause tissue damage and extreme pain...going in and coming out!
I have to agree. I like spicy food (within reason) but there's a point where too much heat overwhelms my taste buds, numbing them.
After that it doesn't matter what you're eating, it tastes like nothing at all.
Unfortunately my rectum doesn't get numb, so eventually I pay heavily for the spice my mouth was too numb to enjoy...
Exactly. These people should stop messing around with these sissy peppers. They should just eat hot coals and wash it down with sulfuric acid.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.