How Hot Can You Go?

September 11, 2007 Measuring Up No Comments

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

Nordihydrocapsaicin

2,000,000–5,300,000

Standard US Grade pepper spray

855,000–1,041,427

Naga Jolokia

350,000–577,000

Red Savina Habanero

100,000–350,000

Habanero Chile, Scotch Bonnet

100,000–200,000

Jamaican Hot Pepper

50,000–100,000

Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper

30,000–50,000

Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper

10,000–23,000

Serrano Pepper

7,000–8,000

Tabasco Sauce (Habanero)

5,000–10,000

Wax Pepper

2,500–8,000

Jalapeño Pepper

2,500–5,000

Tabasco Sauce (Tabasco pepper)

1,500–2,500

Rocotillo Pepper

1,000–1,500

Poblano Pepper, Texas Pete sauce

600–800

Tabasco Sauce (Green Pepper)

500–1000

Anaheim pepper

100–500

Pimento, Pepperoncini

0

No heat, Bell pepper

Pablano/Poblano Peppers

August 15, 2007 Background No Comments

Poblano is a name commonly used in Mexico for a person that lives in the city of Puebla. In the world of food, however, Poblano, also spelled Pablano, is also the name of a type of chili pepper. Poblano Peppers have a flavor similar to that of a bell pepper and they range from mild to medium in heat. The Poblano pepper grows on a plant of many stems that can reach over two feet in height. The pod of the Poblano pepper can be anywhere from three to six inches in length and two to three inches in width. Pobalno peppers are dark colored pepper that starts out as purplish-green but turns such a dark red by the time it is full size that you could say it is almost black. This pepper is one of the most commonly grown and used peppers in Mexico today.

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