SCOVILLE SCALE: HISTORY, HOW IT WORKS AND THE MOST SPICY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The Scoville scale is the way to determine the spiciness contained in chili, chili or chilli. The SHU (Scoville Heat Units) for its acronym in English is applied as a metric unit and the level goes from 0 to 16,000,000.

These fruits belong to the Capsicum genus because they contain capsaicin, a component that makes food itchy and is subjected to measurement to establish the level of pungency. It is an organoleptic test because it is perceived through the sense of taste.

The Scoville scale is used to measure hotness in more than 50 thousand species of chili in the world. Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Many hot sauce manufacturers use the Scoville scale as a way to advertise their products.

How does the Scoville scale work?

The method was invented by the American chemist and pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The first experiment consisted of diluting chili pepper in sugar water until the strong flavor disappeared completely.

The more sugar was needed for the preparation to stop chopping, the more capsaicin was present in the food and therefore a higher degree of pungency.

To detect the taste, five people consumed the preparation simultaneously. The results were not precise, as they were subject to human subjectivity, but it did set a precedent to further study the fruits of the genus Capsicum.

Since 1980, the procedure has been carried out by quantitative methods such as chromatography and the use of modern machines that accurately measure the amount of capsaicin. In honor of Scoville his name is kept.

Thanks to this, it was discovered that the flavor of the chemical substance is conditioned by the amount of sulfur and copper present in the chili pepper, in addition, the highest concentration is found in the seeds.

Scale according to the type of chili

Commercial spices are attached to the scale to measure the intensity of their flavor. Image by iSAW Company from Pixabay

The spicy taste of the chili is determined by its species, according to the scale, some are more intense than others. But environmental factors and cultivation methods also play a role, so some peppers may belong to the same variety but be more fiery.

According to the Scoville scale, chili peppers are classified according to the amount of capsaicin measured by units as follows:

• From 2,000,000 Scoville units onwards it is an extreme hotness, one of the best known in this category is the red savina habanero pepper.
• Between 100,000 and 250,000 are spicy, some of them Tabasco and long thin cayenne.
• While 5,000 to 100 is a mild itch where jalapeños and peppers appear.

This is the scale in detail and quoted verbatim from The Science of Heat. It is known in the gastronomic world and the fruits are ordered from the spiciest to the sweet pepper. Some sauces such as tabasco are also mentioned here:

• 15,000,000,000: Resiniferatoxin
• 5,300,000,000: Thiniatoxin.
• 15,000,000 to 16,000,000: Pure Capsaicin
• 8,600,000 to 9,100,000: Homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin.
• 2,000,000 to 5,300,000: Standard level of pepper spray in the United States.
• 1,569,300 to 2,200,000: Carolina Reaper.
• 1,300,000 to 2,000,000: Naga Viper, Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.
• 855,000 to 1,041,427: Naga Joloki
• 350,000 to 580,000: Red Savinas Habanero
• 100,000 to 350,000: Chile habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Chile date, Capsicum chinense
• 100,000 to 200,000: Rocoto or apple tree, hot Jamaican chili, piri piri.
• 50,000 to 100,000: Thai chili, Malagueta chili, Chiltepin chili, Piquín chili.
• 30,000 to 50,000: Red or cayenne pepper, pickled chili pepper, tabasco pepper, calabrese, some types of chipotle pepper.
• 10,000 to 23,000: Chile serrano, chile de arbol, some types of chipotle chile.
• 000 to 8,000: New Mexico variety of the anaheim chili, Hungarian wax chili.
• 2,500 to 5,000: Jalapeño Chile, Padrón Pepper, Tabasco Sauce.
• 1,500 to 2,500: Rocotillo Chile, Sriracha Sauce.
• 100 to 500: Bell pepper, pepperoncini, banana pepper.
• 0: green pepper.

Scale according to the type of chili

The Scoville scale places the Carolina Raper on top of the hottest peppers in the world. Although there are other chemical substances above it that generate greater burning, it is this that has been consumed by humans.

Carolina Raper is an American chili that was born by crossing the habanero pepper with a Naga Bhut Jolokia. It reaches more than 2,000,000 units at the Scoville level of measurement and although it has not been validated as the hottest in the world by the Guinness Book of Records, no other with a higher grade is known so far.

Also on the list of the hottest peppers are:

Dragon breath

From the United Kingdom, it contains 0.023 grams of capsaicin in each gr. It was developed by a horticulturist named Mike Smith with help from the University of Nottingham.

Trinity Scorpion Butch T

Considered the second hottest in the world, it is of Australian origin. It has 1,463,700 SHUs. It was on the Guinness Record for three years.

It is so powerful that to handle it, protective gloves must be worn, if the fruit gets close to sight it can cause temporary blindness.

Naga Viper

It is grown in the United Kingdom and in 2011 it was in the Guinness Book of Records as the hottest in the world. He was then replaced by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.

It is the brainchild of grower Gerald Fowler of The Chilli Pepper Company, who obtained it by planting Naga Morich, Naga jolokia, and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.

On the Scoville scale, the Naga Viper reaches 1,349,000 SHU.

Naga bhut jolokia

Its origin is from India, but it can also be found in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is also known as "ghost chili."

It was considered the hottest on the planet until 2010. On the Scoville scale it reaches 1,040,020 SHU.

Importance of spicy

Measuring the spiciness of each species of chili in the world is a task that generates significant income. The chilli industry worldwide is estimated to be valued at about a billion dollars. They are popular in the United States, Mexico, and South America.

Its use spread to Europe and then to the rest of the world. Today there are more than 50 thousand varieties of chili pepper and the Scoville scale is used to measure its burning flavor.

References

1. José Valdizán Ayala (2016) His majesty the rocoto.
2. Universidad San Martín de Porres (2012) Dictionary of Fruits and Fruits of Peru.
3. David Floyd (2016) 101 Chillies to Try Before You Die.
4. Stuart Walton (2018) The Devil's Dinner: A Gastronomic and Cultural History of Chili Peppers.
5. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association Volume 1. Scoville, Wilbur L