There is officially a new pepper that takes the honor of being the world’s hottest, and it was created by the same inventor. Eddie Currie has out done himself by creating an even hotter creation than the Carolina Reaper. His new creation, “Pepper X,” has just been named the world’s hottest in the Guinness Book.
I’m ‘Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!’
Currie’s newest creation has him literally sweating. He stated he felt “the heat for three and a half hours. Then the cramps came.” Currie then described the cramps as “horrible.” In fact, the new vegetable beats the Carolina Reaper on the Scoville scale. The Carolina Reaper’s heat level 1.64 million units with the Pepper X coming in at 2.693 million. That’s a full million units hotter on the Scoville metric scale.
To help people better under stand the ferocity of the heat, a bell pepper doesn’t register on the heat scale and a jalapeno comes in around 3,000 to 8,000 units. So if spicy is not someone’s cup of tea, they should stay away from the new veggie.
Spicy Creation
The latest spicy creation was grown in Fort Mill, South Carolina by Currie’s facility, Puckerbutt Pepper Company. After consuming the fiery veggie, Currie stated he ended up “laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain.”
On October 16, Pepper X received its certification from the Guinness Book of World Records. Now, Currie’s latest baby is officially titled the hottest pepper in the world. Encouraged by having two veggies to hold the title, back to back, Currie is planning an even hotter one for the future.
The new title holder was first unveiled on an episode of hit YouTube series “Hot Ones.” Winthrop University in South Carolina conducted the testing to determine Pepper X’s heat index. To full gather their data, Winthrop University tested specimens from the past four years.
Heat in the Capsaicin
Furthermore, many people believe the spiciness is held within the seeds of the peppers. However, this is not the case. In fact, the heat comes from capsaicin which is found in the placenta of the veggie. Which is the tissue coating that holds the seed.
The Pepper X has an exterior has many ridges and curves, allowing more area inside for the placenta to grow.
Additionally, Currie’s new baby took him over 10 years to create. Over that time period, he cross bred the veggie with some of his hottest peppers, creating the fiery capsaicin kick. In fact, every year Currie cross breeds over 100 pepper plants. All in the hopes of creating one or two that’ll make it through the 10-year development cycle.
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Guinness World Record: Pepper X dethrones Carolina Reaper as world’s hottest chilli pepper
WSOC-TV: ‘Groaning in pain’: Fort Mill man and creator of world’s hottest pepper tried his new invention
Featured Image by Jack Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Richard Elzey’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Second Inset Image Courtesy of liz west’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
