Pepper X

Pepper X is a cultivar of chili pepper recognized by Guinness World Records in 2023 as the world's hottest chili pepper. It was bred by Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper. Pepper X measures an average of 2.693 million Scoville heat units (SHU), beating the previous world record of 1.64 million SHU held by the Carolina Reaper. While the seeds of the chili pepper produce no capsaicin, the chemical which produces the pepper's heat, the chemical is produced in highest concentration within the placental tissue holding the seeds. As claimed by Guinness World Records, the curves and ridges of a Pepper X chili create more surface area for its placenta to grow. Pepper X is a crossbreed of a Carolina Reaper and a pepper sent to Currie by a friend. Currie said that when he ate a Pepper X chili, he "was feeling the heat for three and a half hours" and then experienced cramps that had him "laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain". Pepper X's heat status has been criticized, because independent testing of the pepper has not been performed.