Hot Peppers – Scoville Scale Rankings
August 3, 2009 | Category: Chilli Information
Capsaicin is the substance that makes hot peppers hot, and the amount of Capsaicin present varies from pepper to pepper.
Chillies naturally produce capsaicin to protect them from being eaten by mammals. Birds are not affected in the same way and can eat even the hottest chilli with no effect.
In 1912, Wilbur Scoville devised a scale to place hot peppers in order of heat. In this highly subjective test, a chili of each variety was placed in a sugar solution and diluted until the heat could no longer be sensed when drunk by a volunteer . The number of dilutions required was assigned an number; the actually pungency of a pepper is measured as multiples of 100 units, where the bell pepper scores a Scoville rating of zero whilst Habanero weighs in at 300,000 Scoville Heat Units. Incidentally, pure Capsaicin is worth 16,000,000 Scoville Units! Nowadays, the Scoville measurement is determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography.
Here is a chili heat scale measured in scoville units.
| Chile Pepper | Heat Range |
| Sweet Bell | 0 |
| Cherry | 00 – 500 |
| Pepperoncini | 100 – 500 |
| El-Paso | 500 – 700 |
| Santa Fe Grande | 500 – 750 |
| Coronado | 700 – 1 000 |
| Espanola | 1 000 – 2 000 |
| Poblano | 1 000 – 2 000 |
| Ancho | 1 000 – 2 000 |
| Mulato | 1 000 – 2 000 |
| Pasilla | 1 000 – 2 000 |
| Anaheim | 500 – 2 500 |
| Sandia | 500 – 2 500 |
| NuMex Big Jim | 500 – 2 500 |
| Rocotillo | 1 500 – 2 500 |
| Pulla | 700 – 3 000 |
| Mirasol | 2 500 – 5 000 |
| Guajillo | 2 500 – 5 000 |
| Jalapeno | 2 500 – 8 000 |
| Chipolte | 5 000 – 8 000 |
| Hot Wax | 5 000 – 10 000 |
| Hidalgo | 6 000 – 17 000 |
| Serrano | 8 000 – 22 000 |
| Manzano | 12 000 – 30 000 |
| Shipkas | 12 000 – 30 000 |
| De Arbol | 15 000 – 30 000 |
| Jaloro | 30 000 – 50 000 |
| Aji | 30 000 – 50 000 |
| Tabasco | 30 000 – 50 000 |
| Cayenne | 30 000 – 50 000 |
| Santaka | 40 000 – 50 000 |
| Super Chile | 40 000 – 50 000 |
| Piquin | 40 000 – 58 000 |
| Yatsafusa | 50 000 – 75 000 |
| Haimen | 70 000 – 80 000 |
| Chiltecpin | 60 000 – 85 000 |
| Thai | 50 000 – 100 000 |
| Tabiche | 85 000 – 115 000 |
| Bahamian | 95 000 – 110 000 |
| Carolina Cayenne | 100 000 – 125 000 |
| Kumataka | 125 000 – 150 000 |
| Jamaican Hot | 100 000 – 200 000 |
| Birds Eye | 100 000 – 225 000 |
| Tepin | 100 000 – 265 000 |
| Devil Toung | 125 000 – 325 000 |
| Fatalii | 125 000 – 325 000 |
| Orange Habanero | 150 000 – 325 000 |
| Scotch Bonnet | 150 000 – 325 000 |
| Choclate Habanero | 300 000 – 425 000 |
| Red Savina Habanero | 350 000 – 575 000 |
| Dorset Naga | 800 000 – 900 000 |
| Naga Jolokia | 800 000 – 1 001 300 |
|
Pure Capsaicin
|
15 000 000 |
