In ancient Mexico cut Jalapeno pepper was rubbed on insect bites to stop itching. Heat in peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units, named for Wilbur Scoville who worked for the Parker Davis Pharmaceutical Company. In 1912 he was working on a muscle cream that used capsaicin, the substance in peppers that give them their heat. Scoville conducted a series of tests with whole ground chilies mixed in a solution of water & sugar. He had a panel of 5 testers sip the solution in increased dilutions until it reached the point that it no longer burned the mouth. Lot's of Prylosec & Rolaids in the room(at least there would have been for me). A number was then assigned to each pepper based on how much it needed to be diluted before you could not feel the heat. One part of chili-heat per one million drops of water was then rated at 1.5 Scoville Heat Units or SHU for short.When asked, Scoville called his test "The Scoville Organaleptic Test." Measured in multiples of 100 units, the pungency of chili peppers finds itself at zero Scoville Units in your basic green & colored bell peppers, while the hottest of hot peppers the Red Savina variety Habanero chili ranks in at a whopping 350,000 SHU. |
Variety |
Rating |
Heat Level/Scoville Units |
|---|---|---|
Sweet Bells; Sweet Banana; and Pimento |
0 |
0 |
Mexi-Bells; Cherry; New Mexica; New Mexico; Anaheim |
1 |
100-1,000 |
Ancho; Pasilla; Pablano; Anaheim |
2 |
1,000 - 1,500 |
Sandia; Cascabel |
3 |
1,500 - 2,500 |
Jalapeno; Mirasol; Chipotle; Poblano |
4 |
2,500 - 5,000 |
Yellow Wax; Serrano |
5 |
5,000 - 15,000 |
Chile De Arbol |
6 |
15,000 - 30,000 |
Aji; Cayenne; Tabasco; Piquin |
7 |
30,000 - 50,000 |
Santaka; Chiltecpin; Thai |
8 |
50,000 - 100,000 |
Habanero; Scotch Bonnet |
9 |
100,000 - 350,000 |
Red Savina Habanero; Indian Tezpur |
10 |
350,000 - 855,000 |