{{Short description|Cultivar of Capsicum chili pepper}} {{Infobox cultivar | name = Pepper X | image = | species = ''Capsicum chinense'' | hybrid = | breeder = Ed Currie | origin = Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States | module = {{Infobox pepper | embed = yes | heat = Exceptionally hot | scoville = On average: 2,693,000<ref name="GWR">{{Cite web |date=23 August 2023 |title=Hottest chilli pepper |url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/hottest-chili |access-date=16 October 2023 |publisher=Guinness World Records Ltd. |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016180012/https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/hottest-chili |archive-date=16 October 2023}}</ref> }} }} '''Pepper X''' is a cultivar of chili pepper recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' in 2023 as the world's hottest chili pepper.<ref name=GWR/> It was bred by Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper.<ref name="kim">{{cite news |first1=Chloe|last1=Kim |title=Guinness World Records crowns new hottest pepper |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67136085 |access-date=18 October 2023 |work=BBC News |date=17 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="chili">{{Cite news |last=Hultquist |first=Mike |date=23 February 2018 |title=Pepper X – Latest News and Information |work=Chili Pepper Madness |url=https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/news/pepper-x-latest-news-and-information/ |access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref><ref name="today">{{Cite news |last=Saelinger |first=Tracy |date=29 September 2017 |title='World's hottest pepper' will make you choke, sweat and cry for mercy |publisher=Today, NBC News |url=https://www.today.com/food/pepper-x-t116798 |access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>
Pepper X measures an average of 2.693 million Scoville heat units (SHU), beating the previous world record of 1.64 million SHU held by the Carolina Reaper.<ref name=GWR/><ref name=kim/> While the seeds of the chili pepper produce no capsaicin, the chemical which produces the pepper's heat, the chemical is produced in highest concentration within the placental tissue holding the seeds.<ref name="NMSU Q&A 2005">{{cite web| publisher = New Mexico State University – College of Agriculture and Home Economics |title=Chile Information – Frequently Asked Questions |year=2005 |url=http://spectre.nmsu.edu/dept/academic.html?i=1274&s=sub |access-date=17 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070504035555/http://spectre.nmsu.edu/dept/academic.html?i=1274&s=sub <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 4 May 2007}}</ref> As claimed by ''Guinness World Records'', the curves and ridges of a Pepper X chili create more surface area for its placenta to grow.<ref name=kim/>
Pepper X is a crossbreed of a Carolina Reaper and a pepper sent to Currie by a friend.
Currie said that, when he ate a Pepper X chili, he "was feeling the heat for three and a half hours" and then experienced cramps that had him "laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain".<ref name=kim/>
Pepper X's heat status has been criticized, because independent testing of the pepper has not been performed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://greatlakesecho.org/2023/12/14/pepper-wars-michigan-grower-disputes-pepper-xs-record-for-worlds-hottest-pepper-says-his-may-be-hotter/ |last=Schoenherr |first=Daniel |date=December 14, 2023 |title=Pepper wars: Michigan grower disputes Pepper X’s record for world’s hottest pepper |work=Great Lakes Echo}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Capsicum cultivars}}
Category:Chili peppers Category:Crops originating from the United States Category:Capsicum cultivars Category:Guinness World Records holders