Carolina Reaper sows heated interest

Carolina Reapers and I have never had any knowledge or any complaint of anyone having to be hospitalized,” he told the news organization.

But, Genovese said, there’s a way to eat the red pepper, explaining that it is not designed to “plonk it in your mouth and eat it.”

“I would never do that and I wouldn’t recommend it,” he said. “Just cook with it — make a curry, infuse it slowly [and] take it out if you want to afterwards, and get the rich flavors from that superhot chile.”

“The way I always put it, is treat it like salt. You’re not going to take a handful of salt and put it in your food and say, ‘Wow I’ve got a wicked salt kick.’ Just use small amounts, use accordingly. If you want to do a chile contest, that’s different.”

The farmer was responding to a report published in the British Medical Journal about a 34-year-old man who was hospitalized with “thunderclap headaches” after participating in a chile contest where he ate a Carolina Reaper.

The study’s authors argued that the pepper may have caused reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, a condition in which the blood vessels in the brain constrict, causing severe headaches, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The news hasn’t seemed to deter chile fans.

Although the website for Genovese’s farm, called Love My Chillies, warns consumers to “FEAR THE REAPER,” the peppers are out of stock. When the Carolina Reapers are available, 2 pounds sell for nearly $30.

PUCKERBUTT PEPPER CO./COURTESY Can Carolina Reapers cause “thunderclap headaches?”