Question: What is the hottest pepper?
*** Answer ***
The Scoville scale records pepper spiciness referencing the range of pepper spiciness in SHU Scoville Heat Units
Answer: Pepper X with 2,693,000 SHU
(accurate as of 4/10/2025)
Pepper X and the Carolina Reaper were bred by Ed Currie. Both were cultivated by cross-pollinating plants with favorable attributes through 8-12 generations. The result? A pepper hot enough to cause internal damage and blow your socks off — handle carefully!
Spiciness can vary between peppers grown on the same plant and within the same pepper depending on ripening. Some peppers have a much wider variety of spiciness within the same plant. Pimientos de Padrón (500-2,500 SHU) have the nickname Russian roulette peppers because many are mild and some are grab-some-milk hot. This wide range of heat which makes for an exciting dinner party appetizer. For reference, a Jalapeño peppers have around 8,000 SHU.
Capsaicin is the compound that creates the spiciness sensation. (C18H27NO3 ) [8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide] When ingested, it binds to thermoreceptors activating a fiery mouthfeel sensation. When applied topically (to non-broken skin), capsaicin is an analgesic pain reliever by disrupting neurotransmitter function. It can be found in various pain relief medicines for arthritis which use Capsaicin as the active ingredient. Caution: If you have ever cut a bunch of hot peppers, you’ll know that getting capsaicin underneath nail bed membranes has a similar reaction to ingestion. Maybe wear gloves if you’re cutting a bunch of hot peppers if you don’t want the sensation of your fingernails burning off in a highly memorable 3- hour event that no amount of milk can reach.
Help, this is too spicy! Milk, or another nonpolar substance (many lipids) will dissolve the Capsaicin. Water is polar and will just spread it. See the nonpolar hydrocarbon tail on Capsaicin? Lipids can inhibit the bond and dissolve capsaicin. Many people drink milk for this reason.
How do you know if a pepper is hot? Well, beyond the Scoville range for the variety, it is hard to tell which are hot. Some say a thinner stem is a hotter pepper, or smooth peppers are milder while ones with puckers and lines are hotter. Others say to shake it and if you hear the seeds rattling, it’s hot. Smelling the pepper after cutting it is a clue too. Good luck out there, folks.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Structure-of-capsaicin_fig1_239312220
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/health-risks-of-spicy-food
https://www.acs.org/education/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2013-2014/peppers.html
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/hottest-chili
How Hot Is ‘Pepper X’? Its Creator Spent 6 Hours Recovering from Eating It | Scientific American