Since it was introduced in 2021, the Carolina Reaper was universally known as the world’s hottest pepper…with a heat measurement of over 1.5 million Scoville Heat Units. Now, the Carolina Reaper has been dethroned. The Guinness Book of World Records has officially recognized Pepper X as the new king of heat. Created by South Carolina pepper enthusiast Ed Currie, Pepper X measures 2.69 Scoville Heat Units. As a point of reference, a standard jalapeno pepper measures 5,000 Scoville Heat Units, and a habanero pepper will hit just over 100K.
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