The Guinness World Records has officially recognized Pepper X as the new hottest chili pepper on Earth. This pepper has a rating of 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units! For comparison, the Carolina Reaper, which previously held the record, averages 1.64 million Scoville Heat Units, and jalapenos average 3,000-8,000. Pepper X was bred by Smokin’ Ed Currie (who also developed the Carolina Reaper). It took 10 years to cultivate from several cross-breedings.
A pepper’s heat is determined by how much capsaicin it has, which is expressed with the Scoville Scale, invented by American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Essentially, the Scoville Scale indicates how many times something must be diluted with an equal volume of water, until people can no longer taste the heat from the capsaicin. Today, more sophisticated methods are used, with instruments that measure capsaicin concentration in parts per million.
The chemicals in peppers that are responsible for the heat are called Capsaicinoids. They’re fat soluble, which means water will do absolutely nothing to counter the burn from a hot pepper. Dairy products like milk and yogurt are the most effective way to find relief. Rice can also be helpful, especially when it’s eaten with a mouthful of spicy food.
Humans have been using chili peppers and hot spices since around 7,500 B.C. Chili pepper plants originated in modern-day Bolivia and are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. Eventually, the plants spread across Europe and into Asia and Africa, and were altered with selective breeding. One of the first commercially available bottled hot sauces in the U.S. appeared in Massachusetts in 1807. Tobasco Sauce is the oldest recognizable brand here in the U.S., dating to 1868.
Most of a pepper’s heat is found not in its seeds, but in the white membrane that holds the seeds. Apparently, Pepper X’s bumpiness creates more space for that membrane to grow. It’s considered a proprietary pepper, so you won’t be able to buy pods or seeds. But you can taste it through Pepper X hot sauces, available online. Learn more here.