The Carolina Reaper: The Chili That Held The Title Of The World’s Hottest Pepper For A Decade
Wikimedia CommonsThe Carolina Reaper was also developed by Ed Currie.
In 2013, the famously spicy Carolina Reaper burst onto the scene. And it would hold its record as the world’s hottest pepper for 10 years.
Like Pepper X, it was originally created by Ed Currie. The Carolina Reaper is reportedly so hot that the workers who harvest the chilis and scrape out their seeds wear not just one, but two layers of protective gloves to help them avoid the heat, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Carolina Reaper measures a sweltering 1.56 million SHUs, and even its daring creator has extreme difficulty eating a whole pepper.
Currie reportedly celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Carolina Reaper by eating one of the peppers whole — leading to several minutes of him gasping for air, choking, and suffering through intense stomach cramps.
“Eating them whole like that is just stupid,” he later said.
It’s little wonder why Currie is known as something of a master in the hot pepper-breeding world. Between Pepper X and the Carolina Reaper, it’s hard to imagine how he’ll outdo himself with future chili peppers.
But as Currie himself has teased, Pepper X is “not the pinnacle.”
