A Welsh horticulturist by the name of Mike Smith has bred a variety of pepper that is so hot it could cause a life-threatening anaphylactic shock if consumed. This new pepper, dubbed the Dragon Breath Chilli, measures 2.48m on the Scoville scale. That means that it’s considerably hotter than the previous all-time record holder, the Carolina Reaper, which measures near 2.2m heat units. (Your average jalapeño pepper, by comparison, measures between 2,500 and 10,000 on the Scoville scale). Here’s the Dragon’s Breath Chilli on the vine:
The Dragons Breath Chilli, entered with the Guinness Book of Records as the Worlds Hottest Chilli @ 2.48 mill Sch Uns pic.twitter.com/zXUu8fXRCL
— Mike Smith (@tomsmithplants_) April 4, 2017
Smith tells the Daily Post: “It’s not been tried orally. I’ve tried it on the tip of my tongue and it just burned and burned. I spat it out in about 10 seconds.” He’s sent all the pertinent information to the Guinness Book of World Records, but Smith has not yet received confirmation that this is, in fact, the official hottest pepper in the world.
The flower shop owner, who created the pepper in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, actually believes that the Dragon’s Breath Chilli could be a valuable asset to the medical community. “This was developed because a lot of people are allergic to anaesthetic, and this can be applied to the skin because it is so strong it numbs it,” Smith explains. He’ll get a chance to show off the Dragon’s Breath Chilli at the Chelsea Flower Show in London next week.
• St Asaph man develops weapons-grade chilli so hot it could KILL you [Daily Post]
• 'Dragon's Breath' Chili Is The New World's Hottest Pepper [FoodBeast]
