Hot, hot, hot: Measuring spiciness in peppers

By Matt S., Pitt County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent
The Scoville scale was developed by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912 as a way to measure the relative intensity of peppers. The test to determine a pepper’s spiciness specifically measures the concentration of capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that produces the burning sensation when it contacts human tissue. Let’s take a look at where some of the peppers we grow in our gardens and use in our kitchens rank on the scale. 
            We’ll start with bell peppers, which have a Scoville rating of zero. Although bells are used to flavor many dishes, their Scoville rating is indicative of their total lack of spiciness. Banana and pimento peppers rank just above bells, in the range of 100-900 Scoville units. They have enough spice that you’ll notice, but likely won’t cause even the weakest of mouths to water.

Photos: Left: Bell peppers, popular in North Carolina home gardens. Center: Jalapeno peppers, frequently found in dips and salsas. Right: Poblano (ancho) peppers, commonly found in chile relleno and other Mexican dishes.

---

             The next group, which ranges from 1,000 to 4,000 Scoville units, includes the jalapeno and the poblano (or ancho) pepper. Jalapenos are popular as components of dips and salsas, and the poblano is used in the popular Mexican dish chile relleno. Jalapenos may rate as high as 10,000 depending on how they are grown and at what stage they are harvested. Many people consider these to be hot peppers, and they have some considerable kick to them, but they rank very low overall on the scale. 
            The Serrano pepper, a major component in the popular Siracha sauce, can measure up to 25,000 Scoville units. Cayenne pepper, which is used in powdered or flake form as a flavoring for certain dishes, and Tabasco, which of course is used in Tabasco sauce, are both chili types that range between 25,000 and 50,000 Scoville units. During my brief career as a cook in my college years, I had an accident involving cayenne pepper and my right eye, and I can say with certainty that 50,000 Scoville units in the eye will pretty much ruin your day. 

Photos: Left: Serrano peppers, a major component in Siracha sauce. Right: Habanero peppers: Don't try to wash down the spiciness with water.

---

           Next up is the habanero pepper. There are many different types of habaneros, as well as different stages of ripeness when they can be harvested at, so they can range anywhere from 100,000 to 580,000 Scoville units, or ten to fifty times hotter than a jalapeno. I ate a habanero pepper once, blindfolded, on a dare, and this seems like a good place to point out that if you ever eat something that is too spicy for you, don’t reach for a glass of water.  Drink milk instead because water only makes it worse.  Much worse.

Above: White Ghost peppers. Right: The Carolina Reaper, developed in South Carolina, is the hottest pepper on earth.

---

Now we come to the ghost pepper, grown in Northeast India and Bangladesh. The ghost pepper tops out at just over one million Scoville units, and was at one time recognized as the hottest pepper in the world. Plant breeders are continually searching for hotter and hotter peppers, so the ghost pepper was used as a parent to produce hotter hybrids such as Red Naga.  This was then crossed with a Red habanero called Savina. The result is the Carolina Reaper, which holds the record holder for hottest pepper on earth, with a Scoville score of up to 2.2 million units or 220 times as hot as a jalapeno.  I’ll pass on that one. 
 
Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center.  If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705.