
Take a look below to learn more about the science behind the world’s most intimidating, inch-long edible.


For those of you wise enough to never consider taking a bite of a Carolina Reaper, just think about those numbers the next time you tear up after accidentally swallowing a whole chunk of whatever “hot” pepper you’re cooking with.īut how exactly is the pepper bred? And could an even hotter pepper possibly be on the horizon? Our friends at Great Big Story paid Smokin’ Ed a visit at his PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina to get the scoop for themselves. For comparison’s sake, an average jalapeño registers around 2,500 SHUs, while a habanero comes in at around 100,000, depending on its color and ripeness. On average, the pepper measures a scorching 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units, though the hottest individual pepper hit 2.2 million SHUs. In the case of the Carolina Reaper, the mixture consists of a ghost pepper and a red habanero. Now somewhat of a legend (at least, in the hot-pepper circuit), Currie crossbreeds various peppers, in hopes of attaining new flavors and heat levels. So, just what exactly is the story behind the creation of the world’s hottest chili pepper? True heat aficionados might know that one man can take credit for its existence: “Smokin” Ed Currie.
#Carolina reaper pepper scoville scale full#
There truly are no ways to accurately describe its consumption, apart from speaking in clichés - yes, my stomach really did feel like it was on fire…for a full 18 hours. Suffice it to say, I will not be sampling any more of these devilish little creations any time soon. Naturally, as a self-proclaimed “spicy food enthusiast,” I made the colossal mistake of eating a fresh Reaper pepper whole last year. Red and gnarled with a small pointed tail, the pepper has held the Guinness World Record as the hottest chili on earth since 2013. When it comes to the world’s hottest peppers, it’s all about the Carolina Reaper…then everything else. The Carolina Reaper measures in at about 2.2 Million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), while the Apollo pepper reportedly measures in at about 3 Million SHU.Eater, beware! The Carolina Reaper is close to 1,000x hotter than your average jalapeño pepper. Photo: Great Big Story. Yes, the Apollo pepper is roughly 1.4 times hotter than the Carolina Reaper. Is the Apollo Pepper Hotter than the Carolina Reaper? Ghost peppers measure in at about 1 Million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), while the Apollo pepper reportedly measures in at about 3 Million SHU. Yes, the Apollo pepper is roughly 3 times hotter than the ghost pepper. Is the Apollo Pepper Hotter than the Ghost Pepper?
#Carolina reaper pepper scoville scale update#
I have seen no official testing information, but will update this page as new information arrives. If you love spicy food and hot peppers, this is one you need to try. We're talking pure, unadulterated heat in hot sauce form, surely not for the faint of heart. The hot sauce offers more concentrated heat than their previous superhot hot sauces, made with a combination of fresh peppers and dried peppers, distilled chili oil (how essential oils are made by using co2 extraction), and very little vinegar. The only information available at this time comes from a hot sauce made with the Apollo Pepper called The Last Dab: Apollo by Heatonist. At the high end, this makes it roughly 600 times hotter than an average jalapeno pepper. The Apollo Pepper is reported to measure between 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale, putting it on par with the Pepper X. How Hot is the Apollo Pepper? (Apollo Pepper Scoville Rating) 1 3 References edit a b c Mike Hultquist (23 February 2018).

Currie is the creator of both the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X, and while little is currently known about this new pepper, we do know that packs some serious heat. Currie stated that it is 'two times as hot as the Carolina Reaper', 3 which would make it the hottest pepper in the world with a Scoville scale of 3.18 million units, but this remains unconfirmed by Guinness World Records as of 2022. The result is called the Apollo Pepper, and as expected, it is blisteringly hot. Ed Currie of Puckerbutt Pepper Company has done it again by crossing the Guinness World Record holding official hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper, with another superhot chili, Pepper X. There's a new superhot chili pepper in town.

The Apollo Pepper is a superhot chili pepper created by Ed Currie of Puckerbutt Pepper Company by crossing a Carolina Reaper with the Pepper X.
