About Heat
The Scoville Heat Unit
A pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville invented the Scoville Scale in 1912 to measure the heat of peppers. A "Scoville Unit" is actually a measure of capsaicin (the chemical in hot peppers that is responsible for their heat).
Scoville's test was a comparative taste test that is considered subjective by today's standards. A more sophisticated method is in use today, but in honor of Wilbur Scoville, the unit of measure is still called the Scoville Unit.
The capsaicin level in peppers can vary from plant to plant due to local environmental conditions. This means that a pepper's rating is an average measure.
How Much Heat Can You Handle?
|
Scoville Units |
Primary Source |
Pure Capsaicin |
500,000 - 15,000,000 |
Chemistry Lab |
Habanero Pepper |
100,000 - 300,000 |
Yucatan, Caribbean |
Scotch Bonnet |
100,000 - 250,000 |
Jamaica, Caribbean, Belize |
Jamaican Hot |
100,000 - 200,000 |
Jamaica, Caribbean Islands |
Tabasco Pepper |
100,000 - 200,000 |
Central America, Mexico |
Thai Pepper |
50,000 - 100,000 |
SE Asia, California |
Cayenne Pepper |
30,000 - 50,000 |
Louisiana, Mexico |
Serrano Pepper |
10,000 - 25,000 |
Mexico, SW United States |
Jalapeņo Pepper |
2,500 - 5,000 |
Mexico, Texas |
Poblano Pepper |
1,000 - 1,500 |
Mexico, California |
Bell Pepper |
0 - 25 |
Holland, California |
The Ghost Chile - Bhut Jolokia
It's been more than five years since an Indian "Mystery Chile" was making headlines, and claims for such a new variety, called "Ghost Chile" or Bhut Jolokia, were published in print, and all over the Internet. With almost one million Scoville Units, it was supposed to be several times hotter than the Red Savina, the current holder of that title is in the Guinness World Records. Time and again the hot pod popped up in the news, yet no one in the Western world had seen it. That has changed recently, as new claims for such a potent pepper came from the UK, and also from the renowned Chile Pepper Institute of the New Mexico State University.
Read more about the "Ghost Chile"