time in at 600,000 Scoville high temperature units , the ghost pepper used to be the world ’s hottest pepper . Until Ed Currie crossed a ghost pepper with a habanero , that is .
The result ? A scald - looking — and blisteringly hot — raging pepper . The Carolina Reaper measures1.569 millionScoville heat units . Eating a Carolina Reaper altogether has been compared to “ eating molten lava ” or “ licking the Lord’s Day . ”
Currie is the self - described “ proprietor , President of the United States , mad scientist and chef ” at thePuckerButt Pepper Company . Thanks to his Carolina Reaper , the Guinness Book of World Records designated him the phonograph recording holder for theworld ’s hottest pepper .
Now , besides operate the largest certify constitutional pepper farm in the U.S. and continually experimenting with even hot cultivar , Currie frequently offers would - be pepper growerssolid advice . Carolina Reaper ( U.S. Department of Agriculture , Lance Cheung )
New to Peppers?
Currie recommend hot pepper growers wear disposable glove when planting their seeds . ( Both seed and fruit of ghost peppers and similar plant life turn back capsaicin , which can annoy eyes , skin and mucous membranes . )
Still , he take note , “ There ’s nothingdangerousthat can happen to you from a pepper . It ’s all a chemical response that our brain perceive as heat energy . There ’s no actual heating plant go on . ”
So , when people propose they ’ve been cut by a pepper ?
Carolina Reaper (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Lance Cheung)
“ When they say a hole gets put in their pharynx or their stomach , that ’s impossible , ” he continues . “ There ’s no heat require . That ’s all internet fresh fish . ”
control out this recipe for fix made from aji charapita peppers and peaches !
Common Mistakes
Currie has common pepper - growing dial in . He acquire thousands of extra - spicy peppers each yr .
Currie also willingly guides gardener like me who are fresh to these particular craw . ( For my part , I ’ve grown aji charapitas , but never anything hot until now . )
The most common mistake we make ? Planting hot capsicum seeds too deeply and failing to allow enough time for germination . “ Pepper seed in the super - hot category can take up to six weeks to shoot , ” he says .
And it can take 120 to 150 solar day from cum - starting until your first hot - and - spicy harvest home . That may bring for gardeners living in warm climates , but those of us in colder areas may desire to start pepper seeds indoors as ahead of time as late December or other January .
“ If you start seeds in April like you might with most vegetables , you ’re credibly go to get a frost before you get a harvest , ” Currie explains .
Good Stock
Of naturally , before you go to all of that trouble , you ’d better be sure your seed stock is legit . instance in pointedness , it was n’t until after I ’d nurtured seeds for an “ heirloom imperial ghost capsicum ” that I noticed the online trafficker ’s mediocre product reviews .
agree to Currie , my seedscouldbe the real deal , but the odds are n’t great .
“ The designation for an heirloom is 25 years after constancy , ” he explains . “ And trace peppers have only been in the United States since the mid to previous eighties . So , officially , if someone ’s got [ an heirloom ] purple spectre pepper , mathematically it ’s possible — but it ’s plausibly just someonesayingit ’s a imperial trace capsicum . ”
For comparison , consider Currie ’s Carolina Reaper . A botantist and geneticist declared the variety “ stable ” when the plant was in its 10th genesis .
“ And it does n’t even become a cultivar until 15 generations after that , ” Currie says . “ Then I consider it ’s 25 generation after that to become an heirloom . ”
What are heirloom vegetable , and should you grow them ?
A Better Start
To give his seeds a head start , Currie soak them for a few hours in either a H peroxide solution or black teatime .
“ The H hydrogen peroxide actually consume all of the red-hot stuff off [ of the seed ] , ” he says . “ And the tannic acid [ in the Camellia sinensis ] kind of mimics the stomach of a razz and soften the seed case , so that shit it gentle to pullulate . ”
Currie recommends planting capsicum ejaculate at about an eighth of an inch deep in moist — not waterlogged — soil . “ If the seeds get too much water , they ’ll get a fungus or mould before they can germinate , ” he adds .
And once seedsdogerminate ? Currie waiting until seedlings are six inches grandiloquent and then transplants them into larger cells .
“ Then we await until they ’re a foot tall or more to transplant them into the dry land , ” he suppose . “ That seems to work advantageously . ”
Respect the Reaper
Whatever your extra - hot pepper may be , you should wear out protective gloves for their harvesting and handling . And if you plan to desiccate or fake with touch peppercorn , Carolina Reapers or similarly juicy numbers , take them outside .
“ I do n’t advocate anybody do it inside their business firm ! ” Currie laughs .
He slit Carolina Reapers on a specially designated cut down board . And , to void overpowering capsaicin fumes , he operates his nutrient dehydrator outside or in the garage .
