Scoville Units

The Scoville Scale is a measure of the hotness of a particular chili pepper, defined by the amount of capsaicin found in the pepper. Capsaicin is a chemical that stimulates the nerve endings in our skin. The scale is named after Wilbur Scoville, an American chemist who developed way of rating the spicyness of chili peppers. This method, known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test, was developed by Scoville in 1912. Another way to determine a plant's hotness in Scoville units uses high performance liquid chromatography, making it possible to directly measure a pepper's capsaicin content. Scoville's method uses a solution of pepper extract which is then diluted in sugar syrup until a team of five tasters can no longer detect the pepper's spicyness. Scoville's method is inherently flawed in that it relies on humans to determine it's value; therefore the more complicated high performance method is used more often these days.

On this site, we will list the Scoville rating of peppers as long as we can find it. Here is a chart that gives a brief overview of the Scoville Unit Scale.

Scoville rating	Type of pepper
15,000,000–16,000,000	Pure capsaicin
8,600,000–9,100,000	Various capsaicinoids (e.g. homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)
500,000–5,300,000	Law Enforcement Grade pepper spray, FN 303 irritant ammunition
855,000–1,050,000	Naga Jolokia
350,000–580,000	Red Savina Habanero
100,000–350,000	Habanero chili, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Datil pepper, Rocoto, Jamaican Hot Pepper, African Birdseye, Madame Jeanette
50,000–100,000	Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper, Pequin Pepper
30,000–50,000	Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper, some Chipotle peppers
10,000–23,000	Serrano Pepper, some Chipotle peppers
2,500–8,000	Jalapeño Pepper, Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper, Paprika (hungarian wax pepper)
500–2,500	Anaheim pepper, Poblano Pepper, Rocotillo Pepper
100–500	Pimento, Pepperoncini, Bell pepper
0	No heat (Compliments of WikiPedia)