Ed Currie

Currie was born in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. He graduated from Central Michigan University- "on the seven-year college plan" "drinking with the frat boys"- subsequently becoming a stockbroker; his first day of work after qualifying was Black Monday, when global markets collapsed. Having struggled with substance abuse as a "functional addict", in 1999 Currie contemplated suicide but instead went to rehab. He met his wife, Linda, at recovery meetings after moving back to his parents' hometown in South Carolina in 2001. Here he began growing his own peppers in the yard and experimenting with crossbreeds.{{Cite web|last=Gabriele|first=Amanda|title=How One Man Overcame Addiction by Growing the Hottest Peppers in the World|url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/growing-carolina-reaper-history-ed-currie-hottest-pepper|access-date=2020-12-17|website=Thrillist|date=2 August 2019 }} He was featured in the episode "Chili Eating" in the 2020 Netflix documentary series We Are the Champions.{{Cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=2020-10-20|title=Netflix to Premiere 'We Are the Champions,' Rainn Wilson's Look at Real, Unusual Competitions (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/netflix-we-are-the-champions-rainn-wilson-1234810757/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=Variety|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Cornelisse|first=William|date=2020-11-26|title='We Are the Champions' Showcases Unique Global Contests|url=https://www.bcheights.com/2020/11/25/we-are-the-champions/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=The Heights|language=en-US}} He was also featured on Dirty Jobs.{{cite news |last1=Nolasco |first1=Stephanie |title='Dirty Jobs' star Mike Rowe reveals the new gigs that tested his guts: 'My dreams were fevered and vivid' |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/entertainment/dirty-jobs-star-mike-rowe-reveals-new-gigs-tested-his-guts-my-dreams |access-date=19 October 2023 |work=FOXBusiness |date=9 December 2022}}

File:Mature Carolina Reaper.jpg (shown above) and Pepper X, both world-record holding chili peppers at different points.]]

Currie started the PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina, in 2003.{{Cite web|last=Wells|first=Jane|date=2018-06-20|title=How this ex-addict turned self-made millionaire created the world's most hellish peppers|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/20/puckerbutt-pepper-company-makes-worlds-hottest-peppers-and-hot-sauces.html|access-date=2020-12-17|website=CNBC|language=en}} The company sells peppers considered to be extremely hot. It sells seeds, pepper mash, and hot sauce. PuckerButt is the largest organic pepper farm in the US, with annual sales of around $1 million. Currie's hot sauce "The Last Dab" was created for the YouTube show Hot Ones. The show is an interview which asks guests to eat increasingly spicy hot wings, with "The Last Dab" being the spiciest sauce presented.{{Citation|title=07 - Ed Currie - PuckerButt Pepper Company - The Hottest Farmer in the World *AG ODDITIES EDITION* - United We Ag|url=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1092818/4811981-07-ed-currie-puckerbutt-pepper-company-the-hottest-farmer-in-the-world-ag-oddities-edition|access-date=2020-12-17}}

Currie crossbreeds his pepper plants by taking the pollen of one plant with a paintbrush and then delivering that pollen to a different plant. To create the Carolina Reaper, he took a Naga pepper, a chili pepper originally grown in India and Bangladesh, and combined it with the La Soufriere pepper from Saint Vincent.{{Cite web|date=2019-11-17|title=Ed Currie is the Mad Genius Behind the Carolina Reaper|url=https://manofmany.com/lifestyle/food/ed-currie-is-the-mad-genius-behind-the-carolina-reaper|access-date=2020-12-17|website=Man of Many|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-23 |title=Pepper Master Ed Currie Answers Hot Pepper Questions {{!}} Epicurious - YouTube |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbKUlXG90G0 |access-date=2023-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523161212/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbKUlXG90G0 |archive-date=2023-05-23 }} In 2013, Guinness World Records gave the title of "World's Hottest Chili" to the Carolina Reaper.{{Cite web|title=Smokin Ed Currie|url=https://charlestonwineandfood.com/participants/smokin-ed-currie/|access-date=2020-12-17|website=Charleston Wine + Food|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Of Note: Ed Currie, The Inventor of the Hottest Pepper in the World|url=https://scribblesc.com/podcast/of-note-ed-currie-the-inventor-of-the-hottest-pepper-in-the-world/|access-date=2020-12-17|website=scribble|language=en-US|archive-date=September 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922044104/https://scribblesc.com/podcast/of-note-ed-currie-the-inventor-of-the-hottest-pepper-in-the-world/|url-status=dead}} On August 23, 2023, he was officially recognized as having broken the previous record when Guinness World Records certified his Pepper X as the hottest chili pepper on Earth, measuring at 2.69 million SHU.{{cite web |title=Hottest chilli pepper |url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/hottest-chili |publisher=Guinness World Records Ltd. |access-date=16 October 2023 |date=2023}}{{cite web | title= Pepper X dethrones Carolina Reaper as world's hottest chilli pepper| url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/10/pepper-x-dethrones-carolina-reaper-as-worlds-hottest-chilli-pepper-759706 |website= Guinness World Records| date=October 16, 2023| access-date= October 16, 2023}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://puckerbuttpeppercompany.com/ Company website]

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Category:Living people

Category:Farmers from South Carolina

Category:People from Oakland County, Michigan

Category:Farmers from Michigan

Category:Central Michigan University alumni

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:1963 births