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The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chile. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates heat-receptor nerve endings, and the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the ratio of capsaicin present. 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, that contains no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero (no heat detectable even undiluted); whereas 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 (known as "The Gillett Method") have now enabled the Scoville rating to be determined by direct measurement of capsaicin rather than sensory methods.
1 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 and dihydrocapsaicin
- Blair's 6 A.M. food additive
- 9,100,000
- Nordihydrocapsaicin
- 8,600,000
- Homodihydrocapsaicin and homocapsaicin
- 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
- 855,000 (reported & disputed)
- Naga Jolokia pepper
- 350,000 - 580,000
- Red Savina habanero ( Guinness Book of RecordsThe Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human)
- 100,000 - 350,000
- Habanero
- 100,000 - 325,000
- Scotch bonnetThe Scotch bonnet Capsicum chinense is a variety of chile, similar to, and of the same species as, the habanero. It is found mainly in the Caribbean islands, with a shape resembling a Scot's bonnet. Most Scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 150,000 325,00
- 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
- 90,000
- Dave's Ultimate Insanity SauceDave's Gourmet is a company notable only for the fact that it produces a line of some of the world's hottest sauces. Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce rates 90,000 on the Scoville scale and comes with a caveat Use this product one drop at a time. Keep away f
- 85,000 - 115,000
- Tabiche pepper
- 50,000 - 100,000
- Thai pepper
- 50,000 - 100,000
- Chiltepin pepper
- 50,000
- Dave's Insanity SauceDave's Gourmet is a company notable only for the fact that it produces a line of some of the world's hottest sauces. Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce rates 90,000 on the Scoville scale and comes with a caveat Use this product one drop at a time. Keep away f
- 40,000 - 58,000
- Piquin pepper
- 40,000 - 50,000
- Super chile pepper
- 40,000 - 50,000
- Santaka pepper
- 30,000 - 50,000
- Cayenne pepperCayenne pepper is a very hot red powder used to flavour dishes. The powder comes from the fruit of several cultivars of the Capsicum baccatum and Capsicum frutescens species of the nightshade family ( Solanaceae). The fruits are either dried and ground, o
- 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
- 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
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