# Pepper X is three times hotter than Carolina Reaper. Would you eat one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 17, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712 "2023-10-17T17:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/41 "2023-10-17T22:15:03Z")
For those interested in comparing, I stuck a poll in the Polls Only thread: > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/4042): > > What peppers would you eat? The [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712) on the recent “hottest pepper in the world” candidate prompted this poll. I chose the peppers and their [Scoville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale) score from the first result on a search on lists of hot peppers: [THE BIG LIST OF HOT PEPPERS | Cayenne Diane](https://www.cayennediane.com/big-list-of-hot-peppers/). I tried to pick recognizable peppers (the list is a lot longer) The number in parentheses in the poll is the approximate Scoville rating of the pepper. [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/4042) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/42 "2023-10-17T22:35:37Z")
I suggest the poll would be better if you only allowed one answer for the hottest pepper I am willing to endure, which would include all the milder ones. You see that several have voted several choices but not the first one (no way! etc.). I am not voting that either. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/43 "2023-10-17T22:35:43Z")
I ate a ghost chili pepper whole and raw once. It was…unpleasant. This is obviously much worse. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/44 "2023-10-17T23:24:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which means, to me, that there’s not much culinary value to them. Use Pepper X in some dish, and you could instead get the same level of heat by using ten times as many habaneros. I still want to taste the actual peppers, not merely the pure heat component (which will also vary in intensity and profile). I bought a bottle of some no-name Carolina Reaper sauce a while ago, which, while not _bad_, was just not that great— I want a sauce that takes better advantage of the flowery, fruity, sweet notes they mentioned in that video. In theory, I should perhaps try tasting a fresh one to get a better feel for what it is like unadulterated by other ingredients and see if I care for it or not, but I am not in a hurry to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/45 "2023-10-17T23:50:49Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I would think that at some point any more hotness would be beyond the ability for most people to detect. Any truth to that? my take on this: hotness is not a taste category, but a pain category - it has nothing to do with taste-buds. so basically you are OD’ing on something that causes you pain - that causes the reptile brain to try to flush out this shit from your body (salivating, snotty, sweaty, sometimes burping and even vomiting…) by panic-liberating all kinds of hormones and other metabolic alterators. some really weired stuff happened to me … I got a strong high, really feeling like drugged, couldn’t really feel my face for a couple of min. then got intese tingling all over my body (think: ants or funny boning your whole body) … while being very euphoric and in pain. It was not as pleasant as it sounds. so overall a great thing in a crappy setting, analogy: just like an orgasm while falling out of the 46th floor ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/46 "2023-10-17T23:59:54Z")
I found out in the Wiki article on the Scoville scale that one way of measuring the Scoville rating of a pepper is to extract the heat components with alcohol and successively dilute it until a panel of expert tasters can’t detect any heat. The amount of dilution sets the Scoville score. So, no one is measuring how much more one pepper hurts than another. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/47 "2023-10-18T00:11:55Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > > [@WildaBeast](#): > > > > I don’t get this whole “pepper arms race”. The world’s hottest pepper seems more about bragging rights, something you’d eat on a dare or to win a bet, not something with any serious culinary purpose. > > I might catch some heat for this - but that is really an american thing … bigger/faster/louder you get it… and of course the fact that the CalReaper made a lot of people rich - turbocharged this meaningless race to the top … The main competitor in the super hot cultivating business to Ed Curry’s company is in the UK. It is definitely not just an American thing. There is a big market in the UK. > **[Dragon's Breath (chili pepper)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Breath_(chili_pepper))** > > Dragon's Breath is a chili pepper cultivar that unofficially tested at 2.48 million Scoville units. > The plant was developed in a collaboration between chili farmer Neal Price, NPK Technology, and Nottingham Trent University during a test of a special plant food and for its essential oil having potential as a skin anesthetic. The Dragon's Breath plant was later cultivated by breeder Mike Smith of St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales, who said that he had not planned to breed the chili for record heat, b... [https://m.andnowuknow.com/bloom/uk-now-selling-its-hottest-pepper-commercially/jessica-donnel/46566](https://m.andnowuknow.com/bloom/uk-now-selling-its-hottest-pepper-commercially/jessica-donnel/46566) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/48 "2023-10-18T00:15:22Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The main competitor in the super hot cultivating business to Ed Curry’s company is in the UK. It is definitely not just an American thing. There is a big market in the UK. And for what it’s worth, I once went to a pub in Australia that had a bunch of stupid hot hot sauces on the table, with names like “Colon Blow” and “The Hottest F\*\*\*in’ Sauce”, pretty much for the soul purpose of daring your buddies to try them. So the people who breed those things seem to have customers Down Under, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/49 "2023-10-18T00:18:06Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > The main competitor in the super hot cultivating business to Ed Curry’s company is in the UK. It is definitely not just an American thing. There is a big market in the UK. > > And for what it’s worth, I once went to a pub in Australia that had a bunch of stupid hot hot sauces on the table, pretty much for the soul purpose of daring your buddies to try them. So the people who breed those things seem to have customers Down Under, as well. My ex-brother-in-law would bring insanely hot sauces home to his father and my FIL would pretend to not be affected. They are Puerto Rican (which I know is part of the US but culturally different) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/50 "2023-10-18T00:59:40Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I guess it’s better than nothing. My mom had a friend in the 40s who was in a car accident and lost her sense of smell/taste. I always thought it sounded like a horrible outcome. My wife was struck by a car while she was walking and ended up with multiple TBIs. Her olfactory nerves were severed and have not come back. She will most likely never smell again. Her taste was way off but she has been able to retrain enough to again cook excellent food. Not smelling has other awful implications beyond it sucking for eating/cooking/drinking/etc like you can’t tell if you are burning dinner or your house is on fire. You have to learn to bloom spices by look/feel. You can’t tell if you are entering a place with high VOs you shouldn’t be in or feel the need to use a respirator. Good news is she is alive. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/51 "2023-10-18T01:20:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which would also taste better (habaneros are surprisingly flavorful, if you can get past the heat). This is up for debate. Much like some people like cilantro and others think it taste like soap, habaneros are in the same camp: Some like, some think it tastes like chemicals. I’m in the chemicals camp. I like most peppers, but I’ll get my spice from paprikas, cayennes, japapenos and others. Odd thing is one of my favorite hot sauces is habanero based: Marie Sharp’s. It has a great flavor but none of the chemical taste I get from them normally. > **[Marie Sharp's Habanero Hot Sauces from Belize – Marie Sharp's Company...](https://mariesharpsusa.com/?variant=39330933833841)** > > Marie Sharp's OFFICIAL U.S. Site | Great hot sauce that deserves a place on your table, the thick & rich hot sauce millions love made only with real, simple ingredients. The national condiment of Belize. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/52 "2023-10-18T01:26:29Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Obviously, if you do eat one or participate in a challenge, any consequences are all yours. A young man died about a month ago after trying the One Chip Challenge (akin to an exceptionally spicy Dorito chip). It is not certain it was the chip/spice that killed him but it seems likely to have been at least a part of the cause. > **[14-Year-Old Dies After Trying The Paqui ‘One Chip Challenge’](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/14-year-old-dies-after-trying-the-paqui-one-chip-challenge/?sh=3b51b5134a87)** > > \#onechipchallenge on TikTok has gotten over two billion views. Over the past year, there had already been reports of kids being hospitalized after trying the challenge. To the OP I like spicy food a lot but nothing like that. Definite no for me. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/53 "2023-10-18T01:34:06Z")
I don’t like the taste of jalapenos at all. They are bitter for me. Habaneros, although hotter are also sweeter and more flavorful but as I said earlier, not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/54 "2023-10-18T01:39:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I don’t like the taste of jalapenos at all. They are bitter for me. You might give Cowboy Candy (candied jalapeños) a try. It’s actually really good (there are a million recipes out there for it that are mostly the same with some little variation and all are very easy to do…I chose the one below at random…you can also find it at some supermarkets): > **[You'll Want to Eat Cowboy Candy Straight from the Jar](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a40410570/cowboy-candy-candied-jalapenos-recipe/)** > > But save some for spicy margaritas! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/55 "2023-10-18T01:46:35Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > This is up for debate. Much like some people like cilantro and others think it taste like soap, habaneros are in the same camp: Some like, some think it tastes like chemicals. I’m in the chemicals camp. I like most peppers, but I’ll get my spice from paprikas, cayennes, japapenos and others. Not saying that you should try one, but there are habanero varieties out there that have been bred so the chemical taste isn’t there, or is at least less than you would get from a “just plain habanero”. One such is the “Burning Bush” habanero variety, which I grow each season. Despite its name, it has the heat, but it also has sweetness to go along with the heat. Not quite so “chemical,” in other words. Point is, that there are different kinds of habaneros, and slightly different kinds of flavours to each kind. Regarding the OP’s question, no I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t eat either a PepperX or a Carolina Reaper. Habaneros in general are about my limit, and only then to add some heat to a dish I’m cooking. Certainly never raw, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/56 "2023-10-18T02:04:42Z")
You might like red jalapeños. It’s like the difference between green bell peppers and red ones. They sell them around here, but it seems to be somewhat seasonal. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/57 "2023-10-18T02:08:36Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > My wife was struck by a car while she was walking and ended up with multiple TBIs. Her olfactory nerves were severed and have not come back. She will most likely never smell again. Her taste was way off but she has been able to retrain enough to again cook excellent food. Not smelling has other awful implications beyond it sucking for eating/cooking/drinking/etc like you can’t tell if you are burning dinner or your house is on fire. You have to learn to bloom spices by look/feel. You can’t tell if you are entering a place with high VOs you shouldn’t be in or feel the need to use a respirator. What are TBIs and VOs? > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > A young man died about a month ago after trying the One Chip Challenge And have you ever noticed that nobody ever dies before they take the One Chip Challenge!? Every single person who has ever both died and tried the chip, the chip was first! There MUST be a causation there! > [@pulykamell](#): > > You might like red jalapeños. It’s like the difference between green bell peppers and red ones. Yeah, green peppers in general (even bells) tend to have a bit of bitterness. While I won’t turn down a green pepper, I definitely prefer ripe ones (of whatever variety). And yes, that’s the only difference: The green ones are less ripe, and they eventually turn some other color like red or yellow. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/58 "2023-10-18T02:12:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You might like red jalapeños. I have been looking for red jalapenos for a while in Chicago and I have not been able to find any (to be fair, I have not tried super hard to find them but I have looked). IIRC there was a crop shortage this year and the likes of Huy Fong Sriracha can’t source enough for production. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/59 "2023-10-18T02:17:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You might like red jalapeños. In fact I do. I had forgotten about them. Similarly I hate green bells but like the red and yellow ones. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712/60 "2023-10-18T02:25:19Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I have been looking for red jalapenos for a while in Chicago and I have not been able to find any (to be fair, I have not tried super hard to find them but I have looked). IIRC there was a crop shortage this year and the likes of Huy Fong Sriracha can’t source enough for production. I get mine at Pete’s Market and Shop & Save. I feel like I’ve seen them at Tony’s as well. You may have better luck in a Hispanic neighborhood with those stores (I live in a heavily Hispanic area.) But their availability comes and goes. I last saw them about a month ago. I would say they are around about a quarter to a third of the year, but spaced out. I haven’t found a pattern as to when they are available, but it is like this every year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepper-x-is-three-times-hotter-than-carolina-reaper-would-you-eat-one/991712.md?page=4)