How Hot Can You Go?
September 11, 2007 4:23 pm Measuring Up
The Scoville Scale
Named after an American Chemist, Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale is how the heat of chili peppers is measured. The “heat” of a chili pepper is technically called the piquancy. The chili pepper plant is part of the Capsicum genus, which are fruits that contain capsaicin. Capsaicin is the “ingredient” in a pepper that tends to burn your mouth. It is technically a chemical that effects the nerve endings in our skin as well as our mucus membranes. That is why if you have a stuffy nose, eating something spicy often opens your sinus right up! The Scoville scale works by determining the amount of capsaicin that is present in a pepper and gives it a number of Scoville heat units which renders the rating.
|
Scoville rating |
Type of pepper |
|
15,000,000–16,000,000 |
Pure capsaicin |
|
9,100,000 |
|
|
2,000,000–5,300,000 |
Standard US Grade pepper spray |
|
855,000–1,041,427 |
|
|
350,000–577,000 |
Red Savina Habanero |
|
100,000–350,000 |
|
|
100,000–200,000 |
Jamaican Hot Pepper |
|
50,000–100,000 |
|
|
30,000–50,000 |
|
|
10,000–23,000 |
|
|
7,000–8,000 |
|
|
5,000–10,000 |
Wax Pepper |
|
2,500–8,000 |
Jalapeño Pepper |
|
2,500–5,000 |
|
|
1,500–2,500 |
|
|
1,000–1,500 |
Poblano Pepper, Texas Pete sauce |
|
600–800 |
|
|
500–1000 |
|
|
100–500 |
|
|
0 |
No heat, Bell pepper |