Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chile. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates heat-receptor nerve endings, and the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the ratio of capsaicin present.
It is named after Wilbur Scoville, who developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912. As originally devised, a solution of the pepper extract is diluted in sugar water until the 'heat' is no longer detectable to a panel of(usually five) tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville scale. Thus a sweet pepper, that contains no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero (no heat detectable even undiluted); whereas the hottest chiles, such as habaneros have a rating of 300,000 or more, indicating that their extract has to be diluted 300,000-fold before the capsaicin present is undetectable. The greatest weakness of the Scoville Organoleptic Test is its imprecision, because it relies on human subjectivity.
Later developments such as high pressure liquid chromatography (known as "The Gillett Method") have now enabled the Scoville rating to be determined by direct measurement of capsaicin rather than sensory methods.
List of Scoville ratings
Scoville ratings may vary considerably within a species—easily by a factor of 10 or more—depending on seed lineage, climate and even soil. This is especially true of habaneros.
- 16,000,000
- Pure capsaicin and Homodihydrocapsaicin and pepper spray
- 2,000,000
- Common pepper spray
- 1,500,000
- Da' Bomb The Final Answer sauce, from Original Juan Specialty Foods
- 855,000 (reported)
- Naga Jolokia pepper
- 350,000 - 580,000
- Red Savina habanero (Guinness Book of Records)
- 100,000 - 350,000
- habanero
- 100,000 - 325,000
- Scotch bonnet
- 100,000 - 225,000
- Thai pepper
- 50,000 - 100,000
- Cayenne pepper
- 30,000 - 50,000
- Tabasco Habanero sauce
- 5,000 - 23,000
- Chipotle
- 2,500 - 8,000
- Jalapeño
- 2,500 - 8,000
- Tabasco sauce
- 1,500 - 2,500
- Tabasco Chipotle Pepper sauce
- 1,200 - 1,800
- Tabasco Garlic sauce
- 1,500 - 2,500
- Tabasco Green Pepper sauce
- 500 - 2,500
- Pepperoncini pepper
- 100 - 500
- Pimento
- 0
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