Chile Pepper Fun Fact – The Pepper X 

X Marks the Spot for Extreme Heat

On August 23, 2023, Guinness World Records officially recognized Pepper X as the world's hottest chili pepper, measuring 2.69 million SHU, beating the previous world record of 1.64 million SHU held by the Carolina Reaper, which was also bred by the same grower, Ed Currie from Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Pepper X resulted from several cross breedings that produced an exceptionally high content of capsaicin in the locules – the plant tissue holding the seeds. The extensive curves and ridges of a Pepper X chili create more surface area for the plant placenta and locules to grow and retain capsaicin, adding to the intensity of heat experienced when a Pepper X is eaten. Ingestion of Pepper X chili causes intense abdominal cramps and heartburn.

The exceptional pungency of the chili was developed over 10 years of cultivation for desired traits to emerge through selective plant breeding, and 10 or more generations for the hybrid chilis to stabilize with the desired intense pungency. The Pepper X breeder, Ed Currie, produced 100 hybrid crosses per year with the intent that one or two would succeed for the 10-year development cycle.