Scoville scale
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The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chilli pepper. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates heat-receptor nerve endings in the tongue, and the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Many hot sauces use their Scoville rating in advertising as a selling point.
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, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat detectable even undiluted. Conversely, 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 (also 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, dihydrocapsaicin |
| 9,100,000 | Nordihydrocapsaicin |
| 8,600,000 | Homodihydrocapsaicin and homocapsaicin |
| 5,300,000 | Police grade pepper spray |
| 2,000,000 | Common pepper spray |
| 855,000 | Naga Jolokia pepper (reported & disputed) |
| 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 | Birds eye pepper |
| 100,000 - 200,000 | Jamaican hot pepper |
| 100,000 - 125,000 | Carolina cayenne pepper |
| 95,000 - 110,000 | Bahamian pepper |
| 85,000 - 115,000 | Tabiche pepper |
| 50,000 - 100,000 | Thai pepper |
| 50,000 - 100,000 | Chiltepin pepper |
| 40,000 - 58,000 | Piquin pepper |
| 40,000 - 50,000 | Super chile pepper |
| 40,000 - 50,000 | Santaka pepper |
| 30,000 - 50,000 | Cayenne pepper |
| 30,000 - 50,000 | Tabasco pepper |
| 15,000 - 30,000 | de Arbol pepper |
| 12,000 - 30,000 | Manzano pepper, Ají |
| 7,000 - 8,000 | Tabasco habanero sauce |
| 5,000 - 23,000 | Serrano pepper |
| 5,000 - 10,000 | Hot wax pepper |
| 5,000 - 10,000 | Chipotle |
| 2,500 - 8,000 | Jalapeño |
| 2,500 - 8,000 | Santaka pepper |
| 2,500 - 5,000 | Guajilla pepper |
| 2,500 - 5,000 | Tabasco sauce |
| 1,500 - 2,500 | Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce |
| 1,200 - 1,800 | Tabasco garlic sauce |
| 1,500 - 2,500 | Rocotilla pepper |
| 1,000 - 2,000 | Pasilla pepper |
| 1,000 - 2,000 | Ancho pepper |
| 1,000 - 2,000 | Poblano pepper |
| 700 - 1,000 | Coronado pepper |
| 600 - 1,200 | Tabasco green pepper sauce |
| 500 - 2,500 | Anaheim pepper |
| 500 - 1,000 | New Mexico pepper |
| 500 - 700 | Santa Fe Grande pepper |
| 100 - 500 | Pepperoncini pepper |
| 100 - 500 | Pimento |
| 0 | Sweet bell pepper |
Further reading
- The Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 1912; 1:453-4
External links
- Hot Sauces & Scoville Ratings (http://www.sweatnspice.com/hottest_sauces.php)
- Pepper Facts (http://www.thescarms.com/hotstuff/pepperfacts.htm)
- Record for Red Savinas (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/index.asp?id=49118)
- Chemistry and Scoville Units (http://www.sweatnspice.com/chemistry.php)
- List of hot sauces with reported heat intensity in Scoville units (http://www.chilliworld.com/FactFile/Scoville_Scale.asp)da:Scoville