As one of the world's hottest hybrid peppers, 7 Pot Primo peppers are loved for their insane heat and sweet, fruity flavor. They were developed in the US at the University of Louisiana and officially released in 2005.
What Are 7 Pot Primo Peppers?
7 pot primo peppers are super hot peppers developed from the early 2000s and officially released in 2005 by Troy Primeaux, a gifted musician-turned-horticulturist.
Primeaux wanted to do something different than rock and roll’s promises of recklessness, danger, and mystery. Hot peppers became his new thing.
Primeaux worked at the Lafayette’s Horticulture Department at the University of Louisiana to put his Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture to good use in developing the new pepper.
In 2005, alongside his professors, he officially released the pepper that has since become one of the most sought-after hottest peppers in the world.
The 7 Pot Primo pepper shares many similarities with its 7 Pot relatives, but you can tell it apart by its color, shape, and texture.
Color
Like most other hot peppers, 7 Pot Primo peppers ripen from green to vibrant red.
The red variety is the most common version of the peppers. The others are the yellow 7 Pot Primo, chocolate 7 Pot Primo, and orange 7 Pot Primo. These are named by the final color of the pods at full maturity.
Size And Shape
7 Pot Primo hot peppers are small and measure 1-1.5 inches wide and 1-2 inches long. You can identify them by their long, thin, scorpion-like tail.
Texture
The skin of 7 Pot Primo peppers is thin, glossy, lumpy, and wrinkly.
Flavor
7 Pot Primo peppers have a sweet, fruity, floral flavor. Orange 7 Pot Primo peppers are deliciously hot, while the chocolate 7 Pot Primo variety has a more floral flavor.
The blooming spiciness of the peppers quickly overtakes the sweet, fruity flavor.
Is The 7 Pot Primo A Hybrid Pepper?
Yes! The rule of thumb for producing new super hot pepper varieties is to cross super hot peppers. The 7 Pot Primo is a stable hybrid between Trinidad 7 Pot peppers and naga morich peppers.
The name of the pepper borrows partially from the Trinidad 7 Pot side—a popular super hot variety of the famous 7 Pot peppers, and Primeaux’s nickname—Primo.
As of 2012, Primeaux reported that he had bred the pepper as far as the seventh generation. It has proved to be a stable hybrid that produces pepper pods of consistent size, shape, color, and flavor.
Primeaux’s 7 Pot Primo pepper has since been used to produce another hybrid, the Primotalii pepper, which was crossbred with the yellow fatalii pepper.
How Hot Is A 7 Pot Primo Pepper?
As one of the world’s hottest peppers, 7 Pot Primo peppers score 1.2M-1.7M Scoville Heat Units. They average 1.5 million SHUs.
The spiciness of the typical red jalapeno (2,500-8,000 SHUs) is nothing compared to the heat of the fiery 7 Pot Primo.
For reference, 7 Pot Primo peppers are at the top of the Scoville Scale with the Carolina reaper, ghost pepper (bhut jolokia), Trinidad Scorpion, death spiral pepper, Ed Currie’s Pepper X, and a Carolina reaper/Pepper X hybrid, the Apollo pepper.
Is The Carolina Reaper A 7 Pot Primo?
The current record holder for the world’s hottest pepper is the Carolina reaper, which is not a 7 Pot Primo pepper derivative.
Controversy broke out when the Carolina reaper came up in 2012 as the hottest pepper on the planet and was recognized at 1,569,300 SHUs on average in 2013 by Guinness World Records.
It was confirmed on 11 August 2017 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest pepper at 1,641,183 SHUs on average. However, the reaper regularly scores up to 2.2 million SHUs.
People believed that Ed Currie, its developer, may have obtained 7 Pot Primo pepper seeds from Primeaux. Even though he released his hybrid pepper in 2005, Primeaux had started selling its seeds earlier.
The color and shape of the Carolina reaper also raised doubts because of their similarity with the 7 Pot Primo.
As it turned out, the Carolina reaper and 7 Pot Primo may look the same and are at the top of the Scoville Heat Scale, but they are hybrids of different peppers. Ed Currie’s Carolina reaper is a cross between Pakistani naga viper and red habanero peppers.
However, both the Carolina reaper and 7 Pot Primo belong to the Capsicum chinense species.
How To Use 7 Pot Primo Peppers In Cooking
Although there are only a few 7 Pot Primo pepper recipes, you can use them as you would any 7 Pot peppers, like the 7 Pot Douglah and 7 Pot Brain Strain. These peppers are named for the incredible ability of a single pepper to spice seven pots of chilies and stews.
You can use the 7 Pot Primo to season pots of chilies, stews, and soups.
The peppers are also ideal for flavoring tropical hot sauces, as their fruity heat pairs well with mango, pineapple, peach, and other fruits.
The thin skin of 7 Pot Primo peppers makes them ideal for drying and grinding into chili powder and hot pepper flakes that can be used to create dry rubs and spice foods.
When handling super hot peppers, one crucial thing to remember is to use protective gloves and kitchen goggles to prevent skin and eye irritations from the high levels of capsaicin.
Where To Buy 7 Pot Primo Peppers
Although they have gained much attention and popularity among chiliheads since their debut, 7 Pot Primo peppers are still rare. You’ll not find them at the local grocery.
You can check online for Primeaux’s products such as “The Farmer’s Daughter® Hot Pepper Jelly,” “Primonition™ Hot Sauce,” and the Cajun-inspired “Swampadelic Sauce™” It’s unclear if the first and last products include 7 Pot Primo peppers.
Online vendors like Amazon carry hot sauces that use 7 Pot Primo chili peppers.
Can You Grow 7 Pot Primo Peppers?
You’ll have more luck growing your own 7 Pot Primo chile peppers than finding them on the market.
Primeaux still sells 7 Pot Primo pepper seeds online. You might want to check with him before buying them from other online seed catalogs. These catalogs indicate that 7 Pot Primo pepper plants take about 90 days to ripen their pods fully.
Local commercial farmers and homestead growers may also have the seeds, but these may be interfered with if they grow 7 Pot Primo peppers alongside other open-pollinated chili pepper varieties.
Substitutes For 7 Pot Primo Peppers
If you can’t lay your hands on the 7 Pot Primo pepper, you can substitute it with other 7 Pot peppers and insanely hot chilis. You can try the following options for the same or relative heat level:
- Red, chocolate, white, or yellow 7 Pot peppers
- 7 Pot Brain Strain pepper
- 7 Pot Bubblegum pepper
- 7 Pot Douglah pepper (923,889–1,853,986 SHUs)
- Trinidad Moruga scorpion pepper (1,550,000-2,009,000 SHUs)
- Trinidad scorpion pepper (1,500,000-2,200,000 SHUs)
- Apocalypse scorpion pepper (1,400,000 SHUs)
- Chocolate Trinidad scorpion pepper (1,200,000-2,000,000 SHUs)
- Carolina reaper (1,400,000-2,200,000 SHUs)
- Ghost pepper (1,042,000 SHUs)