If chili cooking competitions and hot sauce festivals have taught us anything, it’s that people love when their treats bring the heat. The latest offering in that category: the Carolina Reaper Madness chip, considered the spiciest tortilla chip in the world and said to be so hot that each package only contains a single chip.
The Paqui chips product is individually wrapped in red packaging that sports an illustration of the Grim Reaper. To complete the theme, the wrapped chip is then housed in a red coffin-shaped cardboard.
“We’re always looking to push the limits to find fun ways for our fans and consumers to engage with us,” Jeff Day, Brand Manager of Paqui Chips, told Mashable. “When we decided that we wanted to make the world’s hottest chip, we first said, well, we need to find the world’s hottest pepper.”
A single chip might seem like a measly snack, but the company argues that most people will have trouble even finishing it. As the name implies, the spiciest chip gets its spiciness from the world’s hottest pepper: the Carolina Reaper Pepper. These bright red, wrinkly peppers are so hot that they can lead to a host of health problems like vomiting, seizures, and shortness of breath. To add to this kick, the chip also comes with ghost pepper and chipotle seasoning. The fiery concoction took Paqui Chips and Chef Smokin’ Ed Currie several months to perfect.
“It’s the hottest chip you’ll ever have, I can guarantee you that,” Currie said. “After you eat that one chip, trust me, you’re not looking to dig back into the bag and have a second one. So, one chip is what we created to have the experience.”
If you’d like to try the chip yourself, you can snag one for $4.99 on Paqui’s website. The sellers recommend that adventurous eaters chase the chip with ice cream, milk, yogurt, or honey—water will just make it worse.
[h/t Mashable]
Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.
September 21, 2016 – 7:00pm