Posted on 11/02/2017 7:00:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The breeder behind the Carolina Reaper has a new, potentially record-breaking chili: Pepper X.
During the Cold War, the nuclear arms race led to talk about having enough weapons to "destroy the world multiple times over." This idea is purposely absurdist—intended hint at the larger point that, in some cases, more isn't actually more, it's just excess. With that in mind, a man who goes by the name of Smokin' Ed Currie has claimed to have bred the world's hottest pepper, which—at 3.18 million Scoville heat units—would best the Dragon's Breath, a pepper that only just made its case for the crown earlier this year. Keep in mind, a jalapeno's Scoville score is only in the thousands. So regardless of who actually has the hottest pepper, this is mutually assured destruction for our tongues.
Pepper X is the name given to Currie's latest creation, and if it is eventually confirmed as the Guinness World Record holder for "Hottest Chili," this new pepper would be a worthy heir to the throne. Smokin' Ed previously held the record after developing the highly publicized Carolina Reaper pepper—which Guinness certified as hottest in 2013 with an average spiciness of 1,569,300 Scoville heat units. However, for now, the true hottest pepper appears to once again be up in the air.
In May, Mike Smith and his allegedly 2.48 million Scoville unit Dragon's Breath pepper made the publicity rounds with the breeder saying he had put in his application with Guinness and was simply waiting for the confirmation. Now, Currie has made a similar claim about Pepper X, saying he's also submitted his application to Guinness and expects confirmation around November, according to Foodbeast. Tellingly, the page on Guinness World Records' website for the achievement, which once listed the Carolina Reaper, is currently blank. Also keep in mind that individual peppers, even of the same variety, can have vastly different Scoville scores and no single score is good enough for Guinness to anoint it the hottest. So determining the actual record holder, at least by Guinness's standards, isn't as easy as simply tossing out a flashy number.
Still, as a previous record holder, Currie's claim would seem to be a legitimate one. And at the very least, Guinness can't keep that Hottest Chili page blank forever. Unlike, say, the record for "Most people wearing sock puppets (single venue)," this is a record people actually care about!
As I just posted on another thread, after you get to Ghost pepper level, how do you tell the difference?
I can easily tolerate 3-4 Habaneros died up in 3 scrambled eggs, where 1-2 Ghost or Reapers will be pushing my limits of pain.
>>> this is mutually assured destruction for our tongues.<<<<<
And I would suppose other parts
I must be a weakling - jalapenos are about my limit. We core them, stuff with cooked sausage and cream cheese, wrap with bacon and into the smoker. Mighty fine.
I got some cream cheese jalapenos at a deli. Yuck. Ending up throwing them out. I love cream cheese and jalapenos, but no together.
Yup. Pain is not a flavor.
Pepper Heads. I’ll never understand them.
I’ve worked in the seed business since the mid-90’s.
People that grow, and then EAT this stuff are clinically INSANE, I swear!
“We core them, stuff with cooked sausage and cream cheese, wrap with bacon and into the smoker. Mighty fine.”
Heaven on a Plate! Love, Love, LOVE! :)
“Pain is not a flavor.”
LOL!
I’m a chili-head from youth, but ghosts and above really aren’t palatable alone. I had a couple tacos with diced raw ghosts and though I finished them, my gut went into shock. My stomach turned into steel for hours and the blood rushed from all extremities. It was quite an eye-opener.
I do like a good ghost pepper hot sauce though. The problem with most really hot sauces is few people taste them as they make them and the flavor is often off. A good ghost has a fruity flavor with along with the hellacious burn.
I have come to keep “Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost pepper salsa” on hand as a staple. Very tasty, with a pleasant burn. makes the usual store bough salsas taste like hetchup.
I’ll see if I can find it. I make it a point of buying hot sauce from all the ports in the Caribbean. Its become a bit of an obsession. Finding really good, truly hot sauces is fun.
I quit all spices for over a year due to an autoimmune diet, and then I realized I rather die painfully with spice than live a long tasteless life.
List and descriptions of the hottest hot sauces:
http://www.chez-williams.com/Hot%20Sauce/hothome.htm
Most of those sauces belong in bottles of pepper spray, not on food.
I love jalapenos, but beyond that level of heat -- no thanks.
Gardening Ping
You tell the difference by how long it takes you to get out of the lavatory.
Would 8:00 be OK for me to come over or does 8:30 work better for you?
Good choice. I like that one too.
I agree. I tried Dave's Insanity also. It took me a year to get through the bottle. It was just heat, not much flavor. Won't do it again.
Right now I am enjoying a Mexico Lindo Habenero sause. It has good flavor and is just about the right heat for me.
No pepper has ever affected me other than taste buds.
Lard-laden southern cooking, now.
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