# Carolina Reapers



## Nork (Apr 29, 2009)

I like spicy food. But not so much that it hurts....much. Got some Reapers showing up. I know the dangers. Anyone grow them and enjoy them without too much pain?


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## Dirty Sanchez (10 mo ago)

I can get em down...usually....but the next day.....


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## Clairebear (Mar 28, 2021)

I do, and they look completely different from yours. I also have 6 plants each of Jalapeno, Chili, Habanero, and C Reaper.
I'll take a few pics and post when I can. Two of my Reapers I over wintered and they are huge and produced a few red ones. Now they 
are loaded with dozens of chartruse green peppers. Hoping they will turn red


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## Lightfoot (Feb 18, 2018)

I just grind them up and add some to generic fresh salsa from the store. Despite the heat, hot peppers usually have a really good flavor to them.


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## Nork (Apr 29, 2009)

We have some Jalapeños also. A couple we've eaten have some good heat. One off the same plant didn't feel much heat. Do peppers on the same plant have different heat levels?


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I've been growing super hot peppers for years. I don't have Carolina Reapers this year, but I have Pepper X, which is 50% hotter. I don't really enjoy just gnoshing on super hot peppers, although I eat pieces of all the peppers I grow, every year. I mostly add them to salsa, sauces, and food for the heat. I also have Ghost, Jay's Red Ghost, Devil's Tongue, and 7-Pot peppers growing this year. And bell, shishito, and jalapeno. I pretty much eat peppers every day from Aug - Oct.


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## Vicious Fishous (Sep 12, 2006)

I had a buddy give me about a lifetime supply of dried reapers. I love using them in my salsas, sauces and stews/chilis, more than other fresh hot peppers. I just use sweet bells for the bulk of my peppers. The reaper heat hits quick, and goes away quicker( for me) than adding a bunch of jalapeños, that sometimes seem to be hotter over time. I also know how much to add after the “ring of fire” learning curve.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Nork said:


> We have some Jalapeños also. A couple we've eaten have some good heat. One off the same plant didn't feel much heat. Do peppers on the same plant have different heat levels?


Yes. Absolutely


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Fishndude said:


> I've been growing super hot peppers for years. I don't have Carolina Reapers this year, but I have Pepper X, which is 50% hotter. I don't really enjoy just gnoshing on super hot peppers, although I eat pieces of all the peppers I grow, every year. I mostly add them to salsa, sauces, and food for the heat. I also have Ghost, Jay's Red Ghost, Devil's Tongue, and 7-Pot peppers growing this year. And bell, shishito, and jalapeno. I pretty much eat peppers every day from Aug - Oct.


Not sure I will do the novelty pepper thing again any time soon, though it is fun. I took a bite of "carribbean red" habanero this afternoon and that was enough.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

These were from plants that I took inside last fall and kept alive all winter. I put them back outside in late May or early June. They're either hybrids from Naga Jolokia plants and or Carolina reapers and another variety like Trinidadian scorpions. They're scary hot is all I know. They're much hotter than other Naga plants I've grown in the past. I harvested several peppers and they're in the smoker as I write this. I'll dehydrate them after smoking and use them in recipes later. Spicy mayonnaise is my main use for them. They are serious. I'm not joking around. A little spicy mayonnaise made with these peppers on a samwhich will make you wonder what the F just happened to your heart rate.













Also pictured are heirloom Italian Canner tomatoes.


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## Lightfoot (Feb 18, 2018)

I grew dragons' breath peppers last year but sadly didn't realize they were a perennial that I could have brought indoors for the winter. The reapers, ghosts and bonnets I have this year will come inside before first frost.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

@PunyTrout, if you cut the stem end off those peppers, and halve them lengthwise before you smoke them, they 1) get more great smoky flavor, and 2) will dehydrate through the smoking process. Also, 3) you will get pepper juice on your hands. 

I do the same thing with my surplus superhots, as I work with a woman who will consume a qt jar of smoked superhot pepper flakes in about a month. Sprinkles them on salads, lol. She's a beast with hot stuff. I love to use them to make queso. I'll have to try some spicy mayo. 

I probably give 75% of the peppers I grow, away. There are a handful of restaurants whose hot salsas get quite a bit hotter when my peppers come ripe.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Fwiw, I did/do remove the the stem and top-most cap section of the peppers prior to smoking. Otherwise like mentioned they retain the moisture inside the fruit. I don't cut the super hot peppers in half anymore because I tend to lose less seeds in the process and also get less potent capsaicin on my hands and cutting boards that way.

I like to dehydrate them further until they're crispy and then store them in glass jars until needed.


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## meganddeg (Sep 29, 2010)

Rather than grow them, I get my fix when I'm down visiting family in Fort Mill, SC. I stop by this store and stock up on Voodoo Prince Death Mamba sauce and other things: 






Our Roots,History and mission in natural growing practices and artisan hot sauces – Puckerbutt Pepper Company


We’re committed to creating delicious, natural chili pepper products on our Organic farm. Learn about the Carolina Reaper ®, how it all began, the intense flavor and heat of our sauces and Pepper Heads that love them




puckerbuttpeppercompany.com


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## Nork (Apr 29, 2009)

That's a great name, Puckerbutt Pepper Company. I can just imagine the people sitting around a table trying to figure out a name for their company, lol.


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## 2slick (Jan 19, 2010)

First of all, my son-in-law is connected to the Puckerbutt Pepper company. 
Ed Currie







is the founder of the company. If I remember correctly he was on a church bus and offered some Reapers to anyone that wanted to try them. After they tried them one of the ladies on the bus said “the makes my butt pucker”. The light went on in Ed’s head and he said that’s what I going to name my company!
Also, according to Guinness book of world records, The Carolina reaper is the hardest ever made!
personally I won’t eat them, i don’t like hot stuff!
Ed makes a bunch of different sauces, this is the one my wife likes!
Now you know the rest of the story!🌶


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

sureshot006 said:


> Not sure I will do the novelty pepper thing again any time soon, though it is fun. I took a bite of "carribbean red" habanero this afternoon and that was enough.


There is an option. Find seeds for the "heat-less" strains of the same varieties. The easiest to find will be a tamed Jalapeno. The best stock or best seed choice for those came from Burpee. Last year or so Burpee did not have any available but that might have changed.

I have also done a heat-less Scotch Bonnett. There are others. Check printed seed catalogs for the greatest choice. Some off the wall or smaller seed companies have interesting varieties of heat-less 'hot' peppers. I noticed that the more off-the-wall the greater the chance of a pepper that does not have the quality taste of the original hot-pepper.

All the heat-less peppers we grew were good 'freezers'. We were able to take a handful from the freezer and add to soups, stews, eggs and so on for a bit of change in taste through the winter.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

2slick said:


> First of all, my son-in-law is connected to the Puckerbutt Pepper company.
> Ed Currie
> View attachment 852657
> is the founder of the company. If I remember correctly he was on a church bus and offered some Reapers to anyone that wanted to try them. After they tried them one of the ladies on the bus said “the makes my butt pucker”. The light went on in Ed’s head and he said that’s what I going to name my company!
> ...


Smokin Ed Currie is your son-in-law? He is legend world-wide for cultivating the hottest peppers on the planet. Carolina Reapers are his, as-are Pepper X. He is the God of hot peppers, taking on all challengers. I knew he was from Michigan......


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

alex-v said:


> There is an option. Find seeds for the "heat-less" strains of the same varieties. The easiest to find will be a tamed Jalapeno. The best stock or best seed choice for those came from Burpee. Last year or so Burpee did not have any available but that might have changed.
> 
> I have also done a heat-less Scotch Bonnett. There are others. Check printed seed catalogs for the greatest choice. Some off the wall or smaller seed companies have interesting varieties of heat-less 'hot' peppers. I noticed that the more off-the-wall the greater the chance of a pepper that does not have the quality taste of the original hot-pepper.
> 
> All the heat-less peppers we grew were good 'freezers'. We were able to take a handful from the freezer and add to soups, stews, eggs and so on for a bit of change in taste through the winter.


Yeah, I have sweet peppers for that lol. I can see pranking someone with the mild varieties though...


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## 2slick (Jan 19, 2010)

Fishndude said:


> Smokin Ed Currie is your son-in-law? He is legend world-wide for cultivating the hottest peppers on the planet. Carolina Reapers are his, as-are Pepper X. He is the God of hot peppers, taking on all challengers. I knew he was from Michigan......


No, I said my son-in-law was connected to the company. 
They were childhood friends!


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## bigOgills (Oct 15, 2013)

I have about 400+ reapers sitting in my freezer if anyone wants them,buddies talked me into growing them then after word got saround no one would eat them


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

sureshot006 said:


> Yeah, I have sweet peppers for that lol. I can see pranking someone with the mild varieties though...


Sweet peppers do not have the same taste. The heat-less Jalapeno and Scotch Bonnet type of plants still have that unique taste that goes with each variety, just the heat level is the same as a typical sweet pepper. If we want sweet California Wonders then we take those out of the freezer. If we want Jalapeno taste we can take the heat-less out. No one complains about the heat level being low.

The best prank was taking a Scotch Bonnet to a picnic. Told the guys it was hot. Since this was years before those hot peppers became popular the guys figured it was an exotic sweet pepper because of the nice orange color and the unusual shape. They realized that it was a very hot pepper within a second or two.

All I could say was "I warned you!".


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## Dom (Sep 19, 2002)

I actually like only the mild stuff, a few halopenas on pizza is good. You's guys who like it so hot you get sick, are your taste buds shot? I just don't know how folks can eat stuff so hot it just burns, there is no taste. The more it burns the better it tastes, lol. Like this joker.
hot peppers


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Dom said:


> I actually like only the mild stuff, a few halopenas on pizza is good. You's guys who like it so hot you get sick, are your taste buds shot? I just don't know how folks can eat stuff so hot it just burns, there is no taste. The more it burns the better it tastes, lol. Like this joker.
> hot peppers


I have limits. Beyond that it's just curiosity.


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## bobberbill (Apr 5, 2011)

I enjoy some hot stuff, but those mentioned are WAY above what this old man can tolerate!


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## Nork (Apr 29, 2009)

Finally made 4 small jars of hot sauce. Holy crap it's HOT!! This will last awhile. I'm sure my brother will take one off my hands.


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