 Chile
hotness comes from the substance capsaicin
which is concentrated
primarliy
in the veins. membrane and flesh of the Chile. The seeds are not the
primary heat source, it is the membrane. However, the since the seeds
are
surrounded by membrane loaded with capsaicin, removing the seeds
removes the surrounding membrane
reducing the heat.
Hotness has
traditionally
been rated in Scoville Units named after Dr. Wilbur Scoville who
devised
the test in 1912. It used human testers whereby a measured sample was
diluted
with sugar water until hotness could not be detected anymore. As an
example,
if the sample is 1 cup of chile product and after diluting with 3,000
cups
of sugar water, hotness cannot be detected, the Scoville rating is
"3,000".
Nowadays, human testers have been replaced by High Performance Liquid
Chromatography
(HPLC) which measures actual capsaicin content with precision.
Below is
a listing of a just a
few
peppers.
There are
many more
not on the list, but none are hotter than the Bhut Jolokia and the Red Savina Habanero.
|
|
| SCOVILLE |
PRODUCT |
|
16,000,000
|
Pure Capsaicin
|
1,001,304
|
Bhut Jolokia
|
577,000
|
Red Savina Habanero
|
|
100,000-450,000
|
Habanero, various
|
|
50,000-100,000
|
Thai, Chiletepin, Pepin
|
|
30,000-50,000
|
Tabasco; Cayenne
|
|
15,000-30,000
|
Chile De Arbol
|
|
5,000-15,000
|
Serrano
|
|
2,500-5,000
|
Jalapeno
|
|
1,000-1,500
|
Ancho; Pasilla
|
|
500-1,000
|
Anaheim
|
|
0-100
|
Bell; Pimento
|
|
|
|
