Renfro Foods Turns Up the Heat with Mrs. Renfro's Carolina Reaper Salsa

Pepper heads asked. Mrs. Renfro's delivered.

Renfro Foods has answered the clarion call for more intense heat with its new Mrs. Renfro's Carolina Reaper Salsa. The company's 34th and hottest product to date, was introduced at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York in June to great excitement. It will again be showcased at the 2019 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, Jan. 13-19.

Mrs. Renfro's Carolina Reaper Salsa is a collaboration with Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, S.C., home to Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper, which at the time it was bred in 2013, held the Guinness World Record for hottest pepper. This record may continue to be broken but the flavor and bouquet of Carolina Reaper, not to mention the heat, have continued to grow in popularity.

Describing their partnership as "partners in pain," Doug Renfro, president of Renfro Foods, says he knew of Currie's reputation and product. Then the two got to know each other at a Chile Pepper Institute Advisory Council meeting in Las Cruces, N.M. "Later, I hung out with him at ZestFest and we kept up over the years," Renfro says.

How hot is a Carolina Reaper pepper? It measures 1.5 million SHUs (Scoville Heat Units); the heat of a jalapeno pepper measures around 30,000 SHUs.

"Since coming out with our Ghost Pepper salsa in 2012 to great fanfare, fans have constantly asked for something much hotter, more intense," says Renfro. "The heat trend only keeps growing and getting hotter. As always, we've included lots of flavor with fire."

Mrs. Renfro's Carolina Reaper Salsa is expected on store shelves in a couple of months but is now available on its website. Packaged in 16 oz. jars, suggested retail price is $4.79.

You've been warned, now enjoy.

About Renfro Foods
Renfro Foods is a third-generation family business founded 78 years ago in Fort Worth, Texas, as a packaged spices and pepper sauce business. It later expanded to include syrup, jellies, preserves and chow chow, and then salsa. Today Renfro Foods is known for its innovative line of award-winning Mrs. Renfro's salsas, which come with a simple and tasty recipe right on the label. In addition to salsa, Renfro Foods manufactures a variety of sauces and relishes, including 34 Mrs. Renfro's products distributed through leading supermarkets, gourmet foods stores and gift shops in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, England, Scotland, Spain, and Australia. For more information, please visit www.renfrofoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook (Mrs. Renfro's Gourmet Salsas), Twitter (@mrsrenfros), Instagram (mrsrenfros) and Pinterest (mrsrenfros).

About PuckerButt Pepper Company
PuckerButt Pepper Company was founded by Ed Currie in 2003 in Fort Mill, S.C. Famous for some of the world's hottest sauces, its Carolina Reaper pepper holds the Guinness Book of World Records for hottest pepper. Its line of products includes Carolina Reaper, hot sauces, pepper seeds, and other products.

Need more Food + Wine Theatre News in your life? Sign up for all the news on the Winter season, discounts & more...