The world’s previously spiciest pepper has now been out-spiced. Meet, Pepper X, the fiery fruit that weighs in at a shocking 3.18 million Scoville units and effectively dethrones the previous record holder, the Dragon’s Breath chili. For a little comparison, it's worth knowing that an average jalapeño measures only about 10,000 Scoville units.
Pepper X comes from the garden (and laboratory) of Ed Currie, the North Carolina cultivator responsible for the world’s third most intense pepper, the Carolina Reaper. Currie spent the last ten years developing Pepper X, fine tuning the perfect pepper that would allow him to reclaim the throne after Dragon’s Breath took the title away from him earlier this year.
The spice level of the pepper is purported to numb your skin and leave you breathless. If that’s interesting to you, then you’re in luck. Although Pepper X is not (and maybe should not) be sold on it’s own, you can taste test the famous pepper in a bottle of Last Dab, a hot sauce developed by Heatonist in collaboration with First We Feast. The sauce is available to order online, though it's currently sold out after an intense preorder rush. In the meantime, watch the team behind Last Dab break down the history of Pepper X and explain a bit about what goes into their newest exceptionally hot hot sauce.
Would you give Last Dab a try? If you're a spice lover, let us know in the comments.
Valerio is a freelance food writer, editor, researcher and cook. He grew up in his parent's Italian restaurants covered in pizza flour and drinking a Shirley Temple a day. Since, he's worked as a cheesemonger in New York City and a paella instructor in Barcelona. He now lives in Berlin, Germany where he's most likely to be found eating shawarma.
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