After ten years, the hottest pepper, Carolina Reaper chili pepper was deposed by Pepper X, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Compared to a habanero pepper, which generally has a Scoville heat rating of 100,000, Pepper X has 2.69 million.
Both of the record-breaking peppers were produced by breeder and farmer Ed Currie.
The pods and seeds of Pepper X will not be sold because it is a proprietary pepper.
On his farm in South Carolina, Mr. Currie raised Pepper X for ten years, but he kept his research a secret to safeguard his intellectual property.
“This was a team effort,” Mr. Currie stated in a statement. “We knew we had something special, so I just a few of my closest friends and family know what was really going on.”
Pepper X tested more than one million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) hotter than Mr. Currie’s previous invention, the Carolina Reaper, which averaged 1,641,183 SHU in lab tests at Winthrop University in South Carolina.
The Scoville Scale, developed by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912, counts how many times capsaicin must be diluted.
The molecule in peppers known as capsaicin causes a burning sensation in humans and can cause the body to release dopamine and endorphins.
Mr. Currie began growing peppers as a pastime after beating his drug and alcohol addictions and claims that peppers work as a natural high.
Contrary to popular belief, the tissue that houses the pepper seeds—the placenta—contains capsaicin, which is what gives peppers their flavor. The placenta has a greater surface area to expand on because of Pepper X’s curves and ridges, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Only five people, including Mr. Currie, have consumed an entire Pepper X.
“I spent three and a half hours experiencing the heat. The cramping started after that, Mr. Currie told the AP.
“Those cramps were awful. For about an hour, I writhed in agony while lying flat against a marble wall in the pouring rain.
According to Mr. Currie, Pepper X is a mix between a Carolina Reaper and a “brutally hot pepper that a friend of mine sent me from Michigan.”
10,000 goods allegedly used the Carolina Reaper moniker without permission, according to Mr. Currie’s attorney.
Pepper X pods and seeds won’t be made available in an effort to safeguard his intellectual property and make money this time.
Pepper X can only be tasted through commercial spicy sauces.