History of the Carolina Reaper Pepper

Introduction

Carolina Reapers are notorious for their intense heat. Known world-wide, the small, bright-red peppers have made a tremendous impact on the world of chili peppers, but where did they come from? 

To put it simply, Carolina Reapers are the creation of hot pepper mastermind "Smokin" Ed Currie. In 2017, in a bid to achieve new heat levels and flavors, Currie experimented with the crossbreeding of various peppers. Finally, the combination of the La Soufriere pepper from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and a Naga Viper pepper resulted in the perfect combination of heat and flavor.

 

How did Carolina Reapers get their name?

The Carolina Reaper was invented in Fort Mill, South Carolina, hence the "Carolina" portion of the name. The "Reaper" references the sickle-like tails that stick out the ends of the pepper. Sickles are the tool carried by the Grim Reaper.

 

 

It's also the perfect name to warn you of the impending doom that you may experience when you consume the pepper.

 

Entering the Record Books 

So how hot are Carolina Reapers? According to the Guinness World Record in 2017, the heat level of the Carolina Reaper was found to be 1,641,184 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). This result was arrived at after several tests conducted at the Winthrop University, South Carolina. The 1.6M SHU was an average for the tested batch.

Since setting the record, several others crossbreeds have claimed a higher SHU, however, none have been officially recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

 

Where Can I Learn More About Carolina Reapers?

For more information on he origins of the Carolina Reaper, check out the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Reaper and be sure to give PuckerButt Pepper Company a visit.