On a patch of farmland down in South Carolina, a man named Ed Currie grows the hottest peppers on Earth. The Guinness Book of World Records says so – they’ve certified his pepper called the Carolina Reaper as the hottest ever measured. During this episode I try some sauce made from those peppers. It’s called Chocolate Plague. I’m relieved to still be here to tell you about it.
But the real story here is about Ed Currie’s search for heat – to satisfy some of his cravings in life, and to cleanse some others. It worked in ways he never expected.
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Show notes:
- The Guinness listing for the Carolina Reaper
- Ed's website for the PuckerButt Pepper Company
- Hot Ones, a highly entertaining YouTube series where celebrities sniffle and curse their way through a series of brutal hot sauces (Ed makes the ones on the hotter end)
- The host of Hot Ones, as well as a pepper-lover named Chili Klaus, each scarf a whole Carolina Reaper. It does not go well.
Other music in this episode:
- "Careless In Heat Vol. 1-B," Lazy Magnet
- "The Heat," Dee Yan-Key
New episodes of SouthBound come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe:
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our producer is Nick de la Canal. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.