Scoville scale

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The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chile pepper. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates thermoreceptor nerve endings in the tongue, and the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Many hot sauces use their Scoville rating in advertising as a selling point.

It is named after Wilbur Scoville, who developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912<ref>The Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 1912; 1:453-4</ref>. 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, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat detectable even undiluted. Conversely, 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.

Spice heat is now usually measured by method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (also known as the "Gillett Method"). This identifies the heat-producing chemicals and weights them according to their relative capacity to produce a sensation of heat. This method actually yields results, not in Scoville units, but in "ASTA pungency units." A measurement of one part capsaicin per million corresponds to about 15 Scoville units, and the published method says that ASTA pungency units can be multiplied by 15 and reported as Scoville units. This conversion is approximate, and Tainter and Grenis say that there is general consensus that it gives results about 20-40% lower than the actual Scoville method would have given.<ref>Template:Cite book, p. 30.[1]</ref>

1 List of Scoville ratings
2 Footnotes
3 See also
4 External links

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List of Scoville ratings

Scoville ratings are imprecise.

They 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. The measurement process itself is imprecise; the results from the original Scoville test can vary by ±50%, and 12% for the HPLC method. Finally, results obtained by the HPLC method are actually measured in "ASTA pungency units." These are often converted to roughly equivalent Scoville unit values, but as noted above this conversion is imprecise. When comparing Scoville ratings, this imprecision should be kept in mind.<ref>Template:Cite book, p. 30[2]: "Interlab variation [for the original Scoville scale] could be as high as + / - 50%. However, labs that run these procedures could generate reasonably repeatable results." </ref><ref>Ula, Sushella (1996), "Fire and Spice." Food Product Design, May 1996[3]:"Scoville unit measurements cause errors due to build up of heat, rapid taste fatigue, increased taste threshold, and poor reproducibility. Scott Harris, technical service manager for Cal Compack Foods, Santa Ana, CA is quoted as saying "The coefficient of error is 50% for the Scoville method and less than 12% for the HPLC method."</ref>

Scoville rating	Type of pepper
15,000,000-16,000,000 (Sources vary)	Pure capsaicin<ref>Ula (1996), op. cit. "The HPLC measures the capsaicinoid(s) in ppm, which can then be converted to Scoville units using a conversion factor of 15, 20 or 30 depending on the capsaicinoid." This would make capsaicin 15,000,000</ref><ref>http://www.zarc.com/english/cap-stun/tech_info/oc/hplc.html Method 21.1 High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)] Manufacturer's website, describes procedure for measuring capsaicin strength and converting to Scoville units by "assuming" pure capsaicin = 15,000,000 Scoville</ref><ref>What Is Capsaicin? What Are Scoville Heat Units? Garden site, says material "courtesy of Peppermania;" lists pure capsaicin at "15,000,000-16,000,000"</ref><ref name="egconsult">Template:Cite web</ref> Blair Lazar's "16 Million Reserve" product, said to be pure capsaicin<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Guinness World Records website: Hottest chili sauce commercially available.</ref>
9,100,000	Nordihydrocapsaicin<ref name="egconsult"/>
8,600,000	Homodihydrocapsaicin and homocapsaicin<ref name="egconsult"/>
7,100,000	"The Source" hot sauceTemplate:Fact
5,300,000	Police grade Pepper spray Template:Fact
2,000,000	Common pepper spray or Pepper BombTemplate:Fact
876,000 - 970,000	Dorset Naga (British) the world's hottest pepper as of April 1st 2006 <ref name=DTDorsetNaga>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TimesDorsetNaga>Template:Cite news</ref>
350,000 - 580,000	Red Savina habaneroTemplate:Fact
100,000 - 350,000	Habanero chile Template:Fact
100,000 - 325,000	Scotch bonnet Template:Fact
100,000 - 225,000	African birdseye (aka "African Devil", "Piri-Piri")Template:Fact
100,000 - 200,000	Jamaican hot pepper Template:Fact
100,000 - 125,000	Carolina cayenne pepper Template:Fact
95,000 - 110,000	Bahamian pepper Template:Fact
85,000 - 115,000	Tabiche pepper Template:Fact
50,000 - 100,000	Chiltepin pepper Template:Fact
50,000 - 100,000	Rocoto Template:Fact
40,000 - 58,000	Pequin pepper Template:Fact
40,000 - 50,000	Super chile pepper Template:Fact
40,000 - 50,000	Santaka pepper Template:Fact
30,000 - 50,000	Cayenne pepper Template:Fact
30,000 - 50,000	Tabasco pepper Template:Fact
15,000 - 30,000	de Arbol pepper Template:Fact
12,000 - 30,000	Manzano pepper, Ají Template:Fact
5,000 - 23,000	Serrano pepper Template:Fact
5,000 - 10,000	Hot wax pepper Template:Fact
5,000 - 10,000	Chipotle Template:Fact
2,500 - 8,000	Jalapeño Template:Fact
2,500 - 8,000	Santaka pepper Template:Fact
2,500 - 5,000	Guajilla pepper Template:Fact
2,500	Tabasco Sauce Template:Fact
1,500 - 2,500	Rocotilla pepper Template:Fact
1,000 - 2,000	Pasilla pepper Template:Fact
1,000 - 2,000	Ancho pepper Template:Fact
1,000 - 2,000	Poblano pepper Template:Fact
700 - 1,000	Coronado pepper Template:Fact
500 - 2,500	Anaheim pepper Template:Fact
500 - 1,000	New Mexico pepper Template:Fact
500 - 700	Santa Fe Grande pepper Template:Fact
100 - 500	Pepperoncini pepper Template:Fact
100 - 500	Pimento Template:Fact
0	Bell pepper Template:Fact

Disputed, unverified or erroneous claims of SHU values:

855,000	Naga Jolokia pepper
900,000/923,000	Dorset Naga <ref name=DTDorsetNaga>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TimesDorsetNaga>Template:Cite news</ref>

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