In the culinary arms race for the title of "hottest chile in the world," you can call the Scorpion Chile the nuclear option.
Registering between 1.4 and 2 million Scoville units,* the heat of the Scorpion chile is an entirely different magnitude than most other super-hot chiles. The scorching hot Habanero hovers around 300,000 - 500,000 Sc and even the melt-your-face-off Ghost pepper (formerly HOTTEST CHILE IN THE WORLD) burns at "only" 850,000 - 1,050,000 Scovilles.
Like many of the super-hot varieties of chile pepper, the shiny red Scorpion chile is petite in size, with a distinctive curved tip that looks like a scorpion's stinger. Its flavor has been described as "slightly floral," tender fruit-like flavor, which makes it a sweet-hot combination - though admittedly difficult to recognize due to the pepper's extreme heat.
(Carefully!) use Scorpion chiles to make the hottest possible hot sauces, five-alarm chili, hot wings, the fiercest chutneys and pepper jellies.
So when we say "Beware, oh take care!" WE'RE NOT KIDDING. Great caution must be taken when working with Scorpion chiles (and any super-hot pepper). Protective gloves should be worn to keep the pepper from touching the skin. Even with multiple pairs of gloves, the oil from the flesh and seeds of the peppers can eventually seep through to the skin, as happened to chile experts at the
*As a point of comparison, the common Jalapeño pepper rates a measly 5,000 Scoville units.