7 of the Spiciest Foods in the World (Enter at Your Own Risk)
From ghost peppers to sauces measured in the millions of Scoville units.
Seven of the world's spiciest foods and peppers, explained through the Scoville scale, and what actually makes each one register as dangerously hot.
Heat is measured on the Scoville scale, based on how much a pepper's capsaicin has to be diluted before it's no longer detectable — and some of these numbers are genuinely extreme.
Carolina Reaper
Currently holds the record for hottest pepper, regularly testing over 1.6 million Scoville units, roughly 200 times hotter than a jalapeño.
Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)
Once held the world record itself, coming in around one million Scoville units, and is still used as a benchmark ingredient in extreme hot sauces.
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
Briefly held the world record before the Carolina Reaper, and is known for a heat that builds slowly and lingers far longer than most super-hot peppers.
Habanero
At roughly 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units, it's considered genuinely hot by most standards, but sits nowhere near the record-holders on this list.
Scotch Bonnet
Similar heat range to habaneros, with a distinct fruity flavor that's made it a staple in Caribbean cooking specifically because the flavor holds up even at that heat level.
Pepper X
Bred specifically to surpass the Carolina Reaper, it has tested even hotter in some measurements, though the Reaper remains the officially certified record holder as of most recent testing.
Pure Capsaicin Extract
Not really a food at all, but lab-extracted capsaicin measures in the tens of millions of Scoville units, illustrating just how much heat is theoretically possible beyond anything actually eaten.