In a fiery revelation, “Pepper X” has claimed the title of the world’s hottest chilli pepper, taking it away from the previous record-holder, the Carolina Reaper, which had held the crown since 2013. The new pepper from South Carolina breeder Ed Currie of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company clocks in at an average of 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), or more than a million more SHU than the previous champ, according to lab tests at Winthrop University.
The Guinness website describes Pepper X as around 500 times hotter than a standard jalapeno pepper, which measures an average of 3,000 SHU. The pepper is squat and greenish-yellow, with red stripes. It has a bumpy exterior that helps it hold more of its internal capsaicinoids, the chemical compounds responsible for the spicy burn. Pepper X took the top spot after a decade of work by Currie, who unveiled it on the YouTube show “Hot Ones” this week.
Currie cultivated the pepper on his farm for ten years, crossing it with some of his other hottest plants to increase its capsaicin levels. He says eating a whole Pepper X is an experience like no other. “There’s an intense burn that happens immediately,” he says in the YouTube video. “Your head feels like, ‘Oh no, what’s going on?’ And then your body starts reacting. You get it in your arms; you get it in your chest.”
The pain from consuming the pepper is due to a sudden tightening of blood vessels that restricts blood flow to the brain, creating a thunderclap headache. The Guinness website says it can also cause a chemical reaction in the stomach that makes your nose, eyes, and mouth burn and may even lead to respiratory failure.
Pepper X has yet to hit the market, but Currie says it will be soon. He won’t say how much it will cost, but he promises it will have more flavor than the Carolina Reaper. He and his team have a reputation for cultivating super-hot peppers with a legit peppery taste and sweet fruitiness, not just pure fieriness.
Interestingly, the pepper is smaller than a jalapeno. It’s just a little over 2 inches wide. Despite the overwhelming amount of spiciness, it’s smaller than most other “world’s hottest” chilies, including the infamous Naga Jolokia, which is more than 100,000 SHU, and the Moruga Scorpion, which is nearly 3,000,000 SHU
