The name alone sounds ominously hot. Averaging 1,569,300 Scoville units the Reaper is the current title holder for the world’s hottest pepper. The skin is bright red and a bumpy texture and there is usually a “stinger” at the end. Developed by Ed Currie of SC, the Reaper was actually an unintended result of Currie’s quest for information about cancer and why certain populations have lower cancer rates than others. His research found a correlation between high consumption of extremely hot peppers and lower cancer rates. Once he came to this conclusion he went on to develop the Reaper.