Capsaicin, the ingredient that makes chiles hot, is measured on a relative basis using the Scoville heat scale. From mild to blistering, there is a pepper for everyone.
Chile peppers have an enormous diversity of color, shape, flavor and heat that almost guarantees there is a pepper to please just about every palate. Chile devotees also vary; some look for that eye watering and tongue blistering rush of endorphins associated with the hotter varieties of pepper, others appreciate a more subtle smolder to their chiles that builds and compliments the other flavors in a dish. Whatever your attraction to this festive fruit, there is a heat scale that defines just how hot is hot.
Measuring the Heat
The chile heat scale was developed by a chemist named Wilbur Scoville in 1912 using a comparative taste test known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test. The Scoville system measures chiles on a scale from zero (sweet bell pepper) to 16,000,000 (pure capsaicin). The original test measured the amount of capsaicin, the actively hot ingredient in chile peppers, discernable in a diluted pepper extract. Albeit a subjective process, it worked well enough and the Scoville scale was born to become the standard measure of chile heat. More sophisticated laboratory tests have since been developed, but the results are often still reported in terms of Scoville heat units (SHUs).
Hottest Pepper Known
For many years, the Red Savina, a type of habanero, was considered the hottest pepper in the world weighing in at 577,000 SHUs. However, the quest for the hottest pepper continues. According to an article in Science Daily, the hottest pepper on record is the Bhut Jolokia or “ghost chile” from India which researchers at New Mexico State University measured at over 1,000,000 SHUs. Some hot sauces on the market boast heat in excess of that found in nature, which is due to the addition of concentrated capsaicin during production.
Comparing Pepper Heat
Pepper heat can vary significantly from pepper to pepper within a species based on where it was grown and even season to season in the same locale, so expect a range of heat from any given variety of pepper. So how hot are your favorite peppers? Here is a short list of some of the more commonly available peppers and a rough idea where they fall on the Scoville scale:
Mild Chiles
- Pepperocini (100 – 500)
- Anaheim Pepper (500 – 2,500)
- Poblano Pepper (1,000 – 2,000)
- Rocotillo (1,500 – 2,000)
Medium Chiles
- Jalapeno (3,500 – 8,000)
- Hot Wax Pepper (5,000 – 10,000)
- Serrano Pepper (6,000 – 25,000)
- Chile De Arbol (15,000 – 30,000)
Hot Chiles
- Cayenne Pepper (30,000 -50,000)
- Tabasco Pepper (30,000 – 50,000)
- Super Chile (40,000 – 50,000)
- Piquin Pepper (40,000 – 58,000)
Very Hot Chiles
- Thai Pepper (50,000 – 100,000)
- Birds Eye Pepper (100,000 – 225,000)
- Habaneros & Scotch Bonnets (100,000 - 350,000)
- Red Savina Habanero (350,000 – 577,000)
Hot Sauces
As for hot sauces, two table-side favorites include Frank’s® Red Hot (+/- 450 SHUs) and the original Tabasco® brand pepper sauce (2,500 – 5,000 SHUs). Frank’s is made from cayenne peppers and Tabasco is made from, well, tabasco peppers. Further up the scale are Blair’s Mega Death Sauce which reportedly sports 550,000 SHUs, Dave’s Insanity Private Reserve at 500,000 – 750,000 SHUs, and Satan’s Blood that comes in at a whopping 800,000 SHUs. Some sauces even come with warning labels so mere mortals will think twice about consuming them “straight up”.
For recipes featuring chile peppers, see Cocoa & Chile: Trendy Flavor Pair, Cheesy Peppery Cornbread Muffins, or Chilli Crab Recipe from Brazil.
