Carolina Reaper

The Carolina Reaper is a red pepper.

It has bumpy skin and a small tail. The tail looks like a tool for cutting crops.

A man named Ed Currie made this pepper. He worked on it for ten years. He mixed two other peppers to make it.

This pepper is very, very hot. It can taste sweet at first. Then it feels like hot lava!

It was the hottest pepper in the world for a long time. Now, a new pepper called Pepper X is even hotter.

You can grow these plants in pots at home. They like to stay warm.

The Carolina Reaper is a very hot chili pepper.

It is bright red. The skin is bumpy and gnarled. It has a small, pointed tail. This tail looks like a sickle, which is a cutting tool. This is why the name "Reaper" was chosen.

An American breeder named Ed Currie made this pepper. He worked for over ten years to make it. He mixed two other peppers together. One was a Habanero pepper from Saint Vincent. The other was a Naga pepper from Assam.

The pepper has a fruity taste. The first bite may feel sweet. Then it feels like molten lava! This heat comes from a part called capsaicin. Scientists measure this heat using Scoville Heat Units, or SHU.

From 2013 to 2023, it was the hottest pepper in the world. It had an average heat of 1,641,183 SHU. Now, a new pepper called Pepper X is even hotter. You can grow these plants in pots at home. They need warm temperatures to grow well.

The Carolina Reaper is a famous chili pepper.

It is a type of plant called Capsicum chinense. People know it because it is very spicy. It is bright red and has bumpy skin. The pepper looks gnarled and uneven. It even has a small, pointed tail. This tail looks like a sickle. A sickle is a curved tool. This shape is why the name "Reaper" was chosen.

Growing this pepper is a special task. You can even try growing it at home. An expert named James Wong calls it a good all-rounder. The plants need warm temperatures to grow well. You might want to grow them in pots. Pots help restrict the growth of the plant. This helps the plant produce fruit sooner. When the peppers are ripe, they are quite large. Two peppers can fill up your whole palm.

An American breeder named Ed Currie created this pepper. He began his work around the year 2001. It took him over ten years to succeed. He had to sort through hundreds of different combinations. He finally crossed two specific peppers together. One was a La Soufrière Habanero from Saint Vincent. The other was a Naga pepper from Assam.

This pepper is known for its intense heat. It has a fruity taste at first. The first bite might even feel sweet. Then, the heat feels like molten lava. This heat comes from things called capsaicinoids. One of these is called capsaicin. Scientists measure this heat using Scoville Heat Units. This is often called SHU.

For a long time, this was a record holder. Guinness World Records named it the hottest pepper. It held this title from 2013 to 2023. In 2017, tests showed an average heat of 1,641,183 SHU. Some reports said one pepper reached 2.2 million SHU. Now, a new pepper called Pepper X is the leader. Ed Currie made that one too. It has an average rating of 2.69 million SHU.

The Carolina Reaper is a famous chili pepper cultivar. It belongs to the Capsicum chinense plant species. People recognize this pepper for its extreme heat and unique appearance. It is bright red and has a gnarled, bumpy texture. One of its most distinct features is a small, pointed tail. This tail resembles a sickle, which is a curved tool. This specific shape led the breeder to choose the name "Reaper."

Creating this pepper required years of careful breeding work. An American breeder named Ed Currie began this process around 2001. He spent over ten years developing the specific variety. To find the right combination, he sorted through hundreds of different hybrids. He eventually succeeded by crossing two very spicy peppers. He used a La Soufrière Habanero from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. He also used a Naga pepper, also known as a Ghost pepper, from Assam. This cross resulted in the pepper officially named "Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper."

The experience of eating a Carolina Reaper is very intense. It is described as having a fruity taste. The initial bite can actually feel sweet to the person eating it. However, that sweetness quickly turns into a sensation like molten lava. This intense heat comes from a high density of capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the specific chemical that creates the burning sensation. Scientists measure this level of pungency using Scoville Heat Units, or SHU. The more capsaicinoids present, the higher the SHU rating will be.

For many years, the Carolina Reaper held a major world record. Guinness World Records named it the hottest chili pepper in the world. It held this prestigious title from 2013 until 2023. During the certification process on August 11, 2017, testing was performed by Winthrop University. This testing took place in South Carolina. The results showed an average heat level of 1,641,183 SHU for a specific batch. This was much higher than the previous record holder, the scorpion pepper. The scorpion pepper had measured at 1,463,700 SHU.

Some reports have suggested even higher levels of heat for this pepper. The Associated Press shared claims that a single Carolina Reaper reached 2.2 million SHU. While the average is used for official records, individual peppers can vary. The heat of this pepper is so strong that it can cause extreme reactions. One reporter from NPR once tried a small piece of the pepper. According to Currie's website, the reporter rolled on the floor and experienced hallucinations. This demonstrates just how powerful the capsaicin concentration can be.

The record for the hottest pepper has now moved to a new variety. Ed Currie developed an even stronger pepper called Pepper X. On August 23, 2023, Pepper X took the title of "World's Hottest Pepper." Testing showed that Pepper X has an average rating of 2.69 million SHU. This means the Carolina Reaper is no longer the most pungent pepper in the world. However, it remains a significant part of the history of super-hot chili breeding.

Growing the Carolina Reaper is possible for people at home. An English ethnobotanist named James Wong calls it a good all-rounder for home gardeners. The plants require warm growing temperatures to thrive. Wong suggests that growing them in pots can be helpful. Using pots can restrict the growth of the plant. This restriction helps the plant produce its fruit sooner. When the peppers reach full maturity, they are quite large. Two ripe peppers can occupy the entire palm of a person's hand.