Chile Pepper Fun Fact - SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER® as the hottest Chile Pepper in the World with a record average of 1,641,000 SHU (Scoville heat units) made effective on August 11, 2017, which is over 71,000 SHU hotter than its groundbreaking 2013 record. In comparison, Jalapeno peppers rate at 2,500 to 8,000 SHU. The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant. Developed by American breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail.
The crossbreed is between a "really nastily hot" La Soufriere pepper from Saint Vincent and a Naga Viper pepper from Pakistan and was named "Reaper" due to the shape of its tail. It has been described as having a fruity taste, with the initial bite being sweet and then immediately turning to "molten lava". The sensory heat or pungency detected when eating a Carolina Reaper derives from the density of capsaicinoids, particularly capsaicin, which relates directly to the intensity of chili pepper heat and Scoville Heat Units (SHU).