The original Scoville scale was set up in the mid 1920s and developed by Wilbur Scoville
as the dilution in sugar water required for a group of trained tasters to just
barely perceive (as a panel) the heat of a chile preparation.
The Scoville rating today is obtained by high pressure liquid chromatography,
and is NOT a subjective measurement. The Scoville measurement is an actual scientific
measurement of the amount of capsaicin contained in the pepper. Note that although there
are at least 5 kinds of capsaicin (or capsaicinoids) contained in a pepper, the
liquid chromatography measures these all at once.
Scoville units
Names
0-100
Bell
Sweet Italian
100 - 500
Peperocini
Cherry
500 - 1000
New Mexico
500 - 3500
Anaheim
1000 - 1500
Pasilla
Poblano
Ancho
1500 - 2500
Rocotillo
2500 - 5000
Chipotle
Guajillo
5000 - 7000
Jalapeno
5000 - 10,000
Wax
6000 - 10,000
Serrano
30,000 - 50,000
Cayenne
200,000
Scotch Bonnet
300,000++
Habanera
to Tim's Original Page-O-Stuff
Last Modified: Thursday, 24-Jan-2008 08:05:36 EST