For months, you've often asked us, "What is the hottest pepper in the world?".
We finally found some time and sat down to tell you a little more about it:
Meet Pepper X – the new Guinness World Record holder for the "hottest pepper in the world." In October 2023, Pepper X dethroned the previous variety, the long-reigning champion Carolina Reaper, which held the title for the world's spiciest pepper for a full ten years.
How hot is the hottest pepper in the world?
Few people have tasted the hottest pepper in the world, and most of them describe its taste as "brutally hot." That speaks for itself. But a better idea of what it's like to eat Pepper X is given by the official scale for measuring pepper heat. It's called the "Scoville Scale" and it assesses the amount of capsaicin – the active substance that gives hot peppers their specific taste.
Until now, the hottest pepper in the world was the Carolina Reaper with about 1.64 million Scoville Heat Units. People who haven't tried it can imagine how hot it is by comparing it to sweet red bell peppers, which have between 100 and 500 units on the scale. Peppers like Jalapeños, on the other hand, have about 5000 units. Pepper X, however, breaks all records with its content of 2.693 million Scoville. This makes it the hottest pepper in the world, ever to exist.
What does Pepper X taste like?
Pepper X is the result of years of hard work by American Ed Currie from South Carolina, who loves to experiment with different pepper varieties. And his experiments have been more than successful – the previous record holder for the hottest pepper in the world – Carolina Reaper – is also his creation.
To create Pepper X today, Ed Currie used a cross between the Carolina Reaper and another hot pepper variety. The new variety is a small, irregularly shaped pepper with a color varying between green and yellow. However, nothing in its appearance reveals how intense its heat is!
Before the senses are overwhelmed by the heat, the taste of Pepper X is actually quite pleasant. The few who have tried it say it has sweet, fruity notes. The brutal hot sensation, however, is felt almost immediately – just a few seconds after eating it. And the aftertaste lasts for several hours...
No, we don't have seeds for Pepper X.
Additionally, we will only say that Ed Currie has patented this hot pepper and does not want to give it to the world. At least for now.
So, friends who love spicy food, we will strive together and hope that Uncle Ed will give us the chance to try the Guinness record holder - PepperX - one day.
How hot is the hottest pepper in the world?
What does Pepper X taste like?
