Scoville scale

The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chilli pepper. These particular fruits contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates heat-receptor nerve endings, and the number of Scoville units indicates the amount of capsaicin present.

It is named after Wilbur Scoville, who developed the system 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 taster; 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 peppers of all, such as habaneross 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.

Later developments such as high pressure liquid chromatography 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 Habanero peppers.

;16,000,000 : Pure capsaicin ;7,100,000 : The Source sauce, from Original Juan Specialty Foods ;5,300,000 : Police grade pepper spray ;2,000,000 : Common pepper spray ;1,500,000 : Da' Bomb The Final Answer sauce, from Original Juan Specialty Foods ;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 ;80,000 : Dave's Insanity Sauce ;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 ;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 : Passila 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

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