If you consider yourself a lover of spicy foods and perhaps a bit of a daredevil even, then our list of the hottest peppers in the world is going to be perfect (and perfectly hot) for you. Peppers are one of the most amazing foods in the world. Their flavor produces amazing variations and enhancements to different foods when used in cooking. The combinations and types of peppers are so varied that a plate can completely change depending on the peppers used.
Not only do they provide color and brightness, but they also pack so much heat that they can go from making a food delicious and seasoned to making your body ache and feel as if you had fire burning in your mouth as you try to cool it down. For a long time, everyone thought the ghost pepper topped the list of crazy-spicy, feels-like-your-tongue-will-never-taste-anything-ever-again hottest peppers in the world. But this is not true, as you’ll find out in our countdown of hottest peppers in the world.
In this article we will take a look at these peppers, and describe how they combine with different foods to make your mouth feel amazing and destroyed at the same time. We will rank them based on their heat, which is measured in Scoville Heat Units or SHU.
After reading this list, be sure to check out The 15 Most Common Phobias in America that Induce Fits of Panic. Could it be that people are actually afraid of peppers or spicy foods? You won’t believe some of the fears that made the list.
Now though, on to the list of the ten hottest peppers in the world!
10. Red Savina Habanero
SHU: 500,000
Back in the old days, this pepper was the king! It was considered the spiciest pepper, and it was used in so many plates that its price had risen to an outrageous amount. Since then it has been surpassed by a lot of peppers and now barely makes the top ten. Nonetheless, it is still widely used and has amazing taste.
Can you handle more of the hottest peppers in the world? If so, continue to the next page.
9. Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Pepper)
SHU: 1,000,000
This pepper is also famous. People assume that because it’s called the ghost pepper that it’s the hottest. Well last year it was in the top four, but now imagine how hot some peppers have become that it is now down to 9th place on the list. This pepper is famous for an amazing hot wing sauce that will blow your mind and your tongue at the same time. If you like spicy wings, you have to try this pepper with some.
8. Barrackpore
SHU: 1,300,000
This pepper is one of the ugliest, looking like a shriveled up human heart that is pumping on its last days, but don’t be fooled; it is so hot that you will wonder if you are eating something or if the devil just decided to have a nap in your tongue.
7. Naga Viper
SHU: 1,350,000
This pepper has a killer name and a killer taste. I personally do not like it because it is a lab produced pepper that took many years to cultivate. It is not used in many dishes and it is also very dark, so its colour is not appealing at all.
6. Naga Morich
SHU: 1,400,000
This pepper is originally from India and has a crumbled skin that makes it look like a flaming cocoon. It is widely used in the hottest curries and it spices meat that by itself would taste like a wet mop. Its taste is so strong that it can overpower any other flavor in a dish.
5. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
SHU: 1,463,700
This was a previous holder of the title “hottest pepper” according to Guinness. But it has been bumped down to number five now. It looks like a strange Medusa, and is so hot that if you touch it, you have to wash your hands immediately with milk because it will burn like hell.
4. Pot Primo
SHU: 1,900,000
This pepper is amazing and it is said to be one of the tastiest peppers there is, but be careful. A little too much of this pepper and you wont feel your mouth for more than a day. When you look at it you can already see how much it will burn: its bright red color makes it look like a Ferrari about to run over your tongue.
3. Brain Strain
SHU: 1,900,000
This pepper is amazing, it actually looks like a brain, with a pinkish tone. But don’t be fooled by it, it looks like a brain and it will also make your brain hurt with the amout of heat that it packs.
2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
SHU: 2,000,000
This pepper looks like a cherry, being small and rather non-threatening, but remember, this one was the hottest peppers in 2013. If you dare touch it, it will burn before you even put it in your mouth.
1. Carolina Reaper
SHU: 2,200,000
If you thought that the previous peppers where hot, check out our new number one pepper. This Carolina Reaper not only has the most badass name of all, but it will actually make you want to rip your tongue just to make the pain stop. It looks like a cross between Medusa and a sting ray, and it will sting like you never thought you could be stung.
