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 |
|
|
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 |