Suggested uses

Basic prep

Storage & handling

Store in a dry, cool place.

Ingredients

Dried chiles.

Carolina Reaper Chiles were specifically bred for maximum flavor. While the original intent was to create a sweet pepper, the results turned out to be hot chiles. In fact in 2013 a Carolina Reaper Chile was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the Hottest Chile after it was assessed at 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units. Today even an average Carolina Reaper Chile measures between 750,000 and 900,000 SHU, or about 5 times as hot as the typical Habanero Chile.

When fresh fully ripe Carolina Reaper Chiles are a brilliant red color and have a squat, pumpkin-like shape with rounded folds in their walls and a pointed peak on the blossom end. When dried these chiles take on a deep brick red color. Fresh or dried they have a rich sweetness with roasted notes and a bright, instantly searing heat that starts hot and only gets hotter.

Part of the Capsicum chinense family, this broad species of peppers has been part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7,500 BC. While they are now staples in many cuisines, they were not introduced to Europe and Asia until the late 1,400s when they were brought to Spain and quickly traded for their variety and as a cheaper alternative to the pricey peppercorns. Now, regional influence and cultivation has created wide variety of variations that are unique to specific cultures.

Carolina Reaper Chiles were developed in Rock Hill, South Carolina by a chile enthusiast planning to breed an intensely sweet chile that could provide flavor and a dose of capsaicin to spice up the diets of patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy treatments (therapies which can interfere with the sense of taste). One test plant (originally called “HP22BNH7”), the result of crossbreeding a ghost pepper chile with a habanero, turned out to bear fruits with incredibly high quantities of capsaicin. This plant became the ancestor of all true Carolina Reaper Chile plants.

Carolina Reaper Chile Powder is a single-variety chile powder, meaning it contains ground chiles and nothing else. It is a serious upgrade from ordinary chile powders and it is extremely hot, so precautions like frequently washing hands or wearing food-safe latex gloves should be taken when cooking with it. Take care not to breathe in ground Carolina Reaper Chiles, or to get the chiles’ natural oils on your skin or in your eyes.