The Scoville scale was developed by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912 as a way to measure the relative intensity of peppers. The test to determine a pepper’s spiciness specifically measures the concentration of capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that produces the burning sensation when it contacts human tissue.
Let’s take a look at where some of the peppers we grow in our gardens and use in our kitchens rank on the scale.
We’ll start with bell peppers, which have a Scoville rating of zero. Although bells are used to flavor many dishes, their Scoville rating is indicative of their total lack of spiciness.
Banana and pimento peppers rank just above bells, in the range of 100-900 Scoville units. They have enough spice that you’ll notice, but likely won’t cause even the weakest of mouths to water.
The next group, which ranges from 1,000 to 4,000 Scoville units, includes the jalapeno and the poblano (or ancho) pepper. Jalapenos are popular as components of dips and salsas, and the poblano is used in the popular Mexican dish chile relleno. Jalapenos may rate as high as 10,000 depending on how they are grown and at what stage they are harvested. Many people consider these to be hot peppers, and they have some considerable kick to them, but they rank very low overall on the scale.
The Serrano pepper, a major component in the popular Sriracha sauce, can measure up to 25,000 Scoville units. Cayenne pepper, which is used in powdered or flake form as a flavoring for certain dishes, and Tabasco, which of course is used in Tabasco sauce, are both chili types that range between 25,000 and 50,000 Scoville units. During my brief career as a cook in my college years, I had an accident involving cayenne pepper and my right eye, and I can say with certainty that 50,000 Scoville units in the eye will pretty much ruin your day.
Next up would be the habanero pepper. There are many different types of habaneros as well as different stages of ripeness that they can be harvested at, so they can range anywhere from 100,000 to 580,000 Scoville units, or ten to fifty times hotter than a jalapeno.
I ate a habanero pepper once, blindfolded, on a dare, and this seems like a good place to point out that if you ever eat something that is too spicy for you, don’t reach for a glass of water. Drink milk instead — water only makes it worse. Much worse.
Next up is the ghost pepper, grown in Northeast India and Bangladesh. The ghost pepper tops out at just over 1 million Scoville units and was at one time recognized as the hottest pepper in the world.
Plant breeders are continually searching for hotter and hotter peppers, so the ghost pepper was used as a parent to produce hotter hybrids like Red Naga. Red Naga was then crossed with a Red habanero called Savina, which resulted in Carolina Reaper, the current record holder for the hottest pepper on earth, with a Scoville score of up to 2.2 million units or 220 times as hot as a jalapeno. I’ll pass on that one.
Most Popular
Comments / 0