What To Know About The World's Most Expensive Pepper

It can be difficult for those of us with an aversion to especially spicy sensations to understand the appeal of paying top-dollar to eat something that can make you sweat and cry uncontrollably. But for pepper people, being able to enjoy a fabulously spicy dish is one of life's greatest pleasures. To date, the most expensive hot pepper you can buy is the aji charapita, also known as "the mother of all chilis." Originally harvested in Peru, these tiny peppers can cost upward of $300 per pound. For that price, you might as well throw in a case of beer to cool the heat on your palate and your wallet.

Aji charapita peppers are very small, which means they require a lot of effort to cultivate and harvest. For reference, it takes 10,000 of the dried peppers to fill a 1-pound bag. The price will largely depend on where and when you buy the peppers. Some sellers offer dried aji charapitas for as low as $60 per pound. These peppers are also available in powder form, and you can even buy a jar of fresh ones for $65 on Amazon. Since they are so small (and costly), these peppers are one of the most popular varieties to grow at home, although it's a tough plant to tend to.

These golden peppers may be small, but they rank surprisingly high on the Scoville scale, which is used to measure the spiciness of different peppers. Aji charapitas have an average rating of 40,000 Scoville heat units. That's about as spicy as cayenne pepper and much spicier than a jalapeño. Aji charapitas may be the most expensive peppers in the world, but a new variety — Pepper X — is actually the spiciest. Along with boasting a remarkable amount of heat for their size, aji charapitas are packed with flavor. These peppers are slightly sweet, and bursting with fresh, tasty goodness that's beloved by pepper aficionados.

Most people agree that aji charapitas' unique taste makes up for the high price tag and arduous gardening process. If you do decide to indulge in the peppers, there are a number of ways to incorporate them into your cooking. Place the peppers in the oven until they are dehydrated, and then pulverize in a food processor to transform dried aji charapitas into a spice that can be used to upgrade any dish and will vastly expand the lifetime of your investment. The bright, colorful peppers also make for excellent garnishes — just be sure to warn your guests before they take a bite. Or, you can enjoy aji charapitas the way they do in Peru: by muddling them before mixing them into any meal that needs a deluxe kick of spice.