| Carolina Reaper | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Species | Capsicum chinense |
| Hybrid parentage | Naga pepper xHabanero |
| Breeder | Ed Currie |
| Origin | Fort Mill, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Heat |  Exceptionally hot |
| Scoville scale | 1,641,183 SHU |
TheCarolina Reaperchili pepper is acultivar of theCapsicum chinense plant. Developed by American breederEd Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. It was thehottest chili pepper in the world according toGuinness World Records from 2013 to 2023 before it was surpassed byPepper X, which was also developed by Currie.
Currie, an American breeder, began working around 2001 on what would become the Carolina Reaper. It took over 10 years to develop.[1][2] Sorting through hundreds of hybrid combinations, Currie was finally successful at crossing a "really nastily hot"La Soufrière (Saint Vincent)Habanero pepper from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and aNaga pepper/Ghost pepper(locally known asbhüt jolokia) from Assam".[3][2][1][a] During November of that year, a reporter fromNPR visited Currie to try the new pepper. According to Currie's website: "The reporter ate a small piece of the pepper, rolled around on the floor, hallucinated, and then shared his experiences with the national media."[2] Currie officially named the pepper: "Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper". The word "reaper" was chosen by Currie due to the shape of the pepper's "sickle-like" tail.[5]
The Carolina Reaper was certified as the world's hottest chili pepper byGuinness World Records on August 11, 2017.[6] Testing was conducted byWinthrop University in South Carolina during the certification process which showed an average heat level of 1,641,183SHU for a given batch.[6][7] Previously the record for the hottest pepper had been held by thescorpion pepper which measured in at 1,463,700 SHU in comparison.[7][8] It was later claimed through media outlets such as theAssociated Press that an individual Carolina Reaper had a heat level of 2.2 million SHU.[7][9][b] Currie eventually bred an even stronger pepper—known as "Pepper X"—that took the title of "World's Hottest Pepper" on August 23, 2023 that was tested indicating an average rating of 2.69 million SHUs.[10][11]
The Reaper has been described as having a fruity taste, with the initial bite being sweet and then immediately turning to "molten lava."[5][12] The sensory heat orpungency detected when eating a Carolina Reaper derives from the density ofcapsaicinoids, particularlycapsaicin, which relates directly to the intensity of chili pepper heat andScoville Heat Units (SHU).[13]
For growing, the pepper has been described as "a good all-rounder to try at home" byJames Wong, an Englishethnobotanist, who stated that they require growing temperatures of at least 18 °C (64 °F). He suggested growing the plants in 30–40 cm (12–16 in) pots to restrict growth and produce fruit sooner.[14] When fully ripe, two peppers occupy the palm of the hand.[12]
Smokin' Ed gained the pepper industry's attention in November 2011 when an NPR Reporter stopped by to eat an HP22B pepper–now known as Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper®.
It took 12 years of crossbreeding for Currie to reach the pinnacle of the pepper world. He said he tested hundreds of hybrid combinations before finally crossing a "really nastily hot" La Soufriere pepper from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and a Naga pepper from Pakistan to create Smokin Ed's Carolina Reaper—"a tidal wave of scorching fire," as the PuckerButt website puts it.
