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What are Scoville Units?
A pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville invented the Scoville Scale in 1912 to
measure the heat of peppers. A "Scoville Unit" is actually a measure
of capsaicin (the chemical in hot peppers that is responsible for their heat).
Scoville's test was a comparative taste test that is considered subjective
by today's standards. A more sophisticated method is in use today, but in honor
of Wilbur Scoville, the unit of measure is still called the Scoville.
The capsaicin level in peppers can vary from plant to plant due to local environmental
conditions. This means that a pepper's rating is an average measure.
The hottest pepper on record is the Habanero/Scotch Bonnet. Some claim it
is one variety, while others claim that the Habanero and Scotch Bonnet are slightly
different varieties. Habanero Peppers are rated at 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville
units. By contrast, the Serrano Pepper comes in at about 5,000 to 15,000 Scoville
units.
So how did Scoville discover these heat levels? His method was simple. He
soaked each different variety of pepper separately in alcohol overnight. Because
capsaicin is soluble in alcohol, the soaking extracted the pungent chemicals
from the pod. Then Scoville took any measure of the extract and added sweetened
water in incremental portions until he detected a level of heat on his tongue.
For example, in the case of Japan chiles, it took sweetened water in volumes
between 20,000 to 30,000 times the pepper extract before the heat level was
not noticeable. He thus rated the Japan chiles 20,000 to 30,000 Scoville Heat
Units.
Scoville's name has since become closely associated with the measure of pungency,
but the oral test is now being slowly replaced by a modern machine (High Pressure
Liquid Chromatograph) that is as sensitive as the human tongue.
Find out more about peppers and TABASCO® heat levels:
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