World’s hottest pepper grown in South Carolina

[rdunk]

I am sure that some of you "pepper bellies" here will be interested in the information on this pepper. Its "hotness" is really unbelievable!! I just caannot imagine having that much hotness in my mouth. Most jalapenos are too hot for me! The link also has a pic of these peppers.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/12/30/worlds-hottest-pepper-grown-in-south-carolina/?intcmp=features

There's nothing like a little spicy food to stave off the cold winter months but you might want to think twice before munching on this pepper.

The Guinness Book of World Records has recently declared Ed Currie's Carolina Reaper peppers as the hottest on Earth, ending a more than four-year drive to prove no one grows a more scorching chili. The heat of Currie's peppers was certified by students at Winthrop University who test food as part of their undergraduate classes.

The bumpy, oily, fire-engine red fruit packs a serious punch of heat nearly as potent as most pepper sprays used by police. It's hot enough to leave even the most seasoned spicy food aficionado crimson-faced, flushed with sweat, trying not to lose his lunch.

The record is for the hottest batch of Currie's peppers that was tested, code name HP22B for "Higher Power, Pot No. 22, Plant B." Currie said he has peppers from other pots and other plants that have comparable heat.

The science of hot peppers centers around chemical compounds called capsaicinoids. The higher concentration the hotter the pepper, said Cliff Calloway, the Winthrop University professor whose students tested Currie's peppers.

The heat of a pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units. Zero is bland, and a regular jalapeno pepper registers around 5,000 on the Scoville scale. Currie's world record batch of Carolina Reapers comes in at 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units, with an individual pepper measured at 2.2 million. Pepper spray weighs in at about 2 million Scoville Units.

But Currie's peppers aren't just about heat. He aims for sweetness, too. He makes sauces and mustards with names like "Voodoo Prince Death Mamba," ''Edible Lava" and "I Dare You Stupit" with a goal to enhance the flavor of food.

With the mega-popularity of sauces like Sriracha, the hot pepper market is expanding. In less than five years, the amount of hot peppers eaten by Americans has increased 8 percent, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.

While the world record is nice, it's just part of Currie's grand plan. He's been interested in peppers all his life, the hotter the better. Ever since he got the taste of a sweet hot pepper from the Caribbean a decade ago, he has been determined to breed the hottest pepper he can. He is also determined to build his company, PuckerButt Pepper Company, into something that will let the 50-year-old entrepreneur retire before his young kids grow up.

Currie has about a dozen employees and he continues his search for the hottest flavors he can grow.

Do you think you can handle this heat?

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[Shasta56]

I read about those peppers.  I will gladly allow true pepper afficianados to eat my share.  I like jalapenos when I'm in the mood for them.  These new fangled things?  Not so much.  My eyes water thinking about them.

Shasta

[rdunk]

Well, the fact for me is, if my tongue and mouth burn as I eat, then I just do not enjoy the food - - and I do really like good food!! For me good food is all about the multiple good tastes and flavors from well prepared and cooked dishes. Making the food "hot" with peppers and spices really is a distraction to the true taste of most any prepared dish.

But, most of us know, there are a lot of people that do like really hot/spicy as a part of their eating enjoyment. I say more power to them, for being able to "handle the hotness"!!

[PLAYSWITHMACHINES]

You crazy Americans

I love hot food, curry, mexican, Roti from Suriname...mmm lovely

A waitress (who i happened to know, way back when) also worked as a cook, she offered us guys at the table "If you finish my Madras curry, i'll blow you"

She was a real babe, so us being men, we tried our best, but for the life of me, i could NOT finish that meal, i don't think ANY of us did that night..
LMAO

ETA;...Keep a toilet roll in the fridge, for when you get home! 

[rdunk]

PWM, now that is very funny!! So, was the Madras Curry just too hot, or was it just too much?? I am sure you had a strong "desire" to finish and accept her kind offer!!

I had never heard of Madras Curry until now, so I looked it up to find out what it is. I did, and also found some recipes I will pass along - post a link for them, in case you and others might want to fix your own Madras Curry.

The four recipes are in the heading at the top of the link page.

http://www.madrasrecipe.com/