The Carolina Reaper, once renowned as the hottest chili pepper globally, has ceded its title to a new contender named Pepper X, introduced by the same grower.
According to a team at South Carolina's Winthrop University, while Carolina Reapers typically average 1.64 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), Pepper X registers a staggering average of 2,693,000 SHU. To put this in perspective, jalapeño peppers usually range from 3,000 to 8,000 SHU.
Guinness World Records has officially recognized Pepper X as the planet's hottest chili pepper.
Ed Currie, the mastermind behind the Carolina Reaper and the founder of Puckerbutt Pepper Company, unveiled Pepper X on the popular YouTube channel "First We Feast." He revealed that it took approximately a decade of breeding to create this exceptionally spicy pepper.
Currie shared in the video, "When we initiated the crossbreeding process, there were two peppers with fantastic flavors that I admired, but neither of them possessed the level of heat that satisfied my taste."
For the time being, Pepper X remains proprietary, which means pods and seeds won't be commercially available. However, the public will have the opportunity to experience the intense heat of Pepper X through the release of Pepper X hot sauces.
