www.washingtonpost.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
184.30.219.4
Public Scan
Submitted URL: https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3b80dba/653003f5e05976047a823055/65253ab30e88230c94874e32/40/61/653003f5e05976047a823055
Effective URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/18/pepper-x-guinness-world-record-hottest/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=e...
Submission: On November 09 via api from BE — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/18/pepper-x-guinness-world-record-hottest/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=e...
Submission: On November 09 via api from BE — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 1 forms found in the DOM
<form class="w-100 left" id="registration-form" data-qa="regwall-registration-form-container">
<div>
<div class="wpds-c-giPdwp wpds-c-giPdwp-iPJLV-css">
<div class="wpds-c-iQOSPq"><span role="label" id="radix-0" class="wpds-c-hdyOns wpds-c-iJWmNK">Enter email address</span><input id="registration-email-id" type="text" aria-invalid="false" name="registration-email"
data-qa="regwall-registration-form-email-input" data-private="true" class="wpds-c-djFMBQ wpds-c-djFMBQ-iPJLV-css" value="" aria-labelledby="radix-0"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="dn">
<div class="db mt-xs mb-xs "><span role="label" id="radix-1" class="wpds-c-hdyOns"><span class="db font-xxxs gray-darker pt-xxs pb-xxs gray-dark" style="padding-top: 1px;"><span>By selecting "Start reading," you agree to The Washington Post's
<a target="_blank" style="color:inherit;" class="underline" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/information/2022/01/01/terms-of-service/">Terms of Service</a> and
<a target="_blank" style="color:inherit;" class="underline" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a>.</span></span></span>
<div class="db gray-dark relative flex pt-xxs pb-xxs items-start gray-darker"><span role="label" id="radix-2" class="wpds-c-hdyOns wpds-c-jDXwHV"><button type="button" role="checkbox" aria-checked="false" data-state="unchecked" value="on"
id="mcCheckbox" data-testid="mcCheckbox" class="wpds-c-bdrwYf wpds-c-bdrwYf-bnVAXI-size-125 wpds-c-bdrwYf-kFjMjo-cv wpds-c-bdrwYf-ikKWKCv-css" aria-labelledby="radix-2"></button><input type="checkbox" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"
value="on" style="transform: translateX(-100%); position: absolute; pointer-events: none; opacity: 0; margin: 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px;"><span class="wpds-c-bFeFXz"><span class="relative db gray-darker" style="padding-top: 2px;"><span
class="relative db font-xxxs" style="padding-top: 1px;"><span>The Washington Post may use my email address to provide me occasional special offers via email and through other platforms. I can opt out at any
time.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="subs-turnstile-hook" class="center dn"></div><button data-qa="regwall-registration-form-cta-button" type="submit"
class="wpds-c-kSOqLF wpds-c-kSOqLF-kXPmWT-variant-cta wpds-c-kSOqLF-eHdizY-density-default wpds-c-kSOqLF-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-kSOqLF-ikFyhzm-css w-100 mt-sm"><span>Start reading</span></button>
</form>Text Content
Accessibility statementSkip to main content Democracy Dies in Darkness SubscribeSign in Advertisement Close The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness Morning Mix HE HELD THE WORLD RECORD FOR HOTTEST PEPPER. THEN HIS PEPPER X DETHRONED IT. By Jonathan Edwards October 18, 2023 at 1:18 a.m. EDT Ed Currie holds up one of his Pepper X peppers Oct. 10 in Fort Mill, S.C. The pepper is now the hottest pepper variety in the world, according to Guinness World Records. (Jeffrey Collins/AP) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this storyComment Add to your saved stories Save Ed Currie and his PuckerButt Pepper Company created the Carolina Reaper, which bagged the Guinness World Records title for spiciest chile pepper on the planet a decade ago. But at the time, Currie was already secretly working on one that was even hotter. Never ask what’s for dinner again. Get one quick recipe in your inbox Monday through Thursday to inspire delicious meals.ArrowRight Currie, now 60, stashed it away, an ace in the hole to play on the day a rival breeder challenged Carolina Reaper’s spiciness supremacy, he told The Washington Post. The months turned to years, which turned into a decade, but that day never came. “No one’s been able to take us out,” Currie said in a Monday episode of the hit YouTube series “Hot Ones,” “so I decided to bring it out to the world.” Story continues below advertisement Meet Pepper X. On Monday, Guinness announced that Currie and PuckerButt had topped their own record. Pepper X had officially clocked in with an average of 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units, far spicier than the Carolina Reaper’s 1.64 million. Scoville Heat Units are the common measurement to gauge a chile’s spiciness, with the jalapeño registering between 3,000 and 8,000 SHUs, although Currie said even the large numerical disparity doesn’t fully capture the difference. Advertisement “The jalapeño is a roller skate,” Currie said. “Those super hot peppers are space shuttles.” Until the “Hot Ones” episode was taped a few weeks ago, Currie was the only person who’d eaten an entire Pepper X. He did it again for the show. In an interview Tuesday with The Post, he said the pepper’s earthy flavor lasted for a split second, followed by a brutal heat that persisted for three hours, then stomach cramps that went on for four more. “It just hurts like mad,” he said, adding that he eats whole peppers only when the cameras are on but usually eats smaller amounts mixed in with his food. Currie started working on Pepper X about 12 years ago, he said. It’s a crossbreed of the Carolina Reaper and a pepper he declined to name but described as one “that a friend of mine sent me from Michigan that was brutally hot.” He grew eight to 12 generations of the pepper to hone and stabilize the heat and flavor he wanted. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In the announcement on the record, Guinness said Winthrop University in South Carolina measured the new pepper’s heat score by running tests on specimens from the past four years. Currie said he has learned from the business mistakes he made with his first Guinness record winner. He didn’t legally protect the Carolina Reaper name and let others have its seeds, grow the peppers and use them to create hot sauces and salsas. Share this articleShare In one instance, Currie said he discovered someone selling a packet of “Carolina Reaper” seeds that contained a single Reaper seed and a bunch from habaneros. When Currie confronted him, the seller scoffed, saying that people don’t know the difference, he said. In other cases where Currie said he has pressed the issue, people have essentially dared him to sue them, knowing they’re safe. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Currie said he’s doing things differently this time around. He has secret greenhouses where he grows the pepper. He showed up on the “Hot Ones” set flanked by lawyers toting the peppers in a metal briefcase that looked better suited for large amounts of cash. “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans said on the episode that he had seen it handcuffed to someone’s wrist. People won’t be able to buy whole Pepper X peppers or their seeds until Currie and his team make money off licensed products for the pepper they spent years creating. For now, they’ll be limited to PuckerButt products such as chips, salsas and mustards. But Currie warned novices tempted to reach for the Pepper X hot sauces too quickly while addressing how eating challenges involving spicy foods has made headlines in recent months. In September, a snack company pulled its “One Chip Challenge” product, which contains a chip encrusted with Carolina Reaper powder, after a 14-year-old died in Massachusetts hours after his family said he had eaten the chip. Currie admits PuckerButt sells its own chip challenge product, which features Pepper X, but said he doesn’t sell it to children. And he cautioned those just starting to eat spicy foods to build up a tolerance. People should start with jalapeños or cayennes and, once they’re comfortable with those, try habaneros, then ghost peppers, working their way through hotter and hotter peppers. As for Currie’s seemingly never-ending quest, he is already crossbreeding peppers with the aim of once again beating himself. He’s homed in on two candidates but declined to reveal more, including how hot they are. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But he’s also taking the time to bask in the record he already has and use Pepper X to create hot sauces and other products that people enjoy. “I’m ready to have so much fun with this thing,” he said on the “Hot Ones” episode. On the episode, Evans surprised Currie by welcoming a Guinness representative to the set to award him the record for the world’s hottest pepper. Although he’d been working with Guinness to earn a record by submitting documentation and specimens for testing, Currie didn’t know that Guinness had awarded him the record or that the organization would send someone that day, he told The Post. When handed the certificate, Currie directed Evans to his arm by saying, “Look.” “I can see,” Evans told him, “you’ve got goose bumps.” As Currie started to explain what the honor meant to him, he choked up a bit. No chile required. Share 307 Comments Loading... Subscribe to comment and get the full experience. Choose your plan → Advertisement Advertisement TOP STORIES Travel Local guides, travel tips and the latest industry news Lovers are leaving locks at the Grand Canyon. Rangers wish they’d stop. Bartender on Margaritaville cruise pleads guilty to sex crime at sea Chip and Joanna are still fixin’ up Waco. This time, it’s a hotel. Refresh Try a different topic Sign in or create a free account to save your preferences Advertisement Advertisement Company About The Post Newsroom Policies & Standards Diversity & Inclusion Careers Media & Community Relations WP Creative Group Accessibility Statement Get The Post Become a Subscriber Gift Subscriptions Mobile & Apps Newsletters & Alerts Washington Post Live Reprints & Permissions Post Store Books & E-Books Print Archives (Subscribers Only) Today’s Paper Public Notices Coupons Contact Us Contact the Newsroom Contact Customer Care Contact the Opinions Team Advertise Licensing & Syndication Request a Correction Send a News Tip Report a Vulnerability Terms of Use Digital Products Terms of Sale Print Products Terms of Sale Terms of Service Privacy Policy Cookie Settings Submissions & Discussion Policy RSS Terms of Service Ad Choices washingtonpost.com © 1996-2023 The Washington Post * washingtonpost.com * © 1996-2023 The Washington Post * About The Post * Contact the Newsroom * Contact Customer Care * Request a Correction * Send a News Tip * Report a Vulnerability * Download the Washington Post App * Policies & Standards * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy * Cookie Settings * Print Products Terms of Sale * Digital Products Terms of Sale * Submissions & Discussion Policy * RSS Terms of Service * Ad Choices * Coupons 5.7.2 Already have an account? Sign in -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TWO WAYS TO READ THIS ARTICLE: Create an account or sign in Free * Access this article Enter email address By selecting "Start reading," you agree to The Washington Post's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The Washington Post may use my email address to provide me occasional special offers via email and through other platforms. I can opt out at any time. Start reading Subscribe €2every 4 weeks * Unlimited access to all articles * Save stories to read later Subscribe THE WASHINGTON POST CARES ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data. WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Select basic ads. Store and/or access information on a device. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Create a personalised content profile. Select personalised content. Measure ad performance. Measure content performance. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Develop and improve products. View list of partners I accept Disable all Manage cookies