If you have even a passing interest in hot sauces, then you will have heard of the Scoville Scale. This is a tool invented to categorise the heat of a pepper based on its levels of capsaicin.
In this spicy guide, we find out more about the Scoville Scale, who invented it (and, more importantly, WHY), and understand its measurements.
We will explain how the scale ranks each pepper, so you can check before you accidentally pop one of the hottest peppers in the world in your mouth.
The Scoville Scale, Explained
The Scoville Scale is a measurement tool that serves as the ultimate heat-o-meter for peppers, helping us understand the intensity of the culinary roller coaster we’re about to go on when trying a new sauce or pepper.
Named after its creator, Wilbur Scoville, pictured below, the scale quantifies the amount of capsaicin, which is the compound in peppers responsible for the burning sensation that leaves us gasping for milk or anything sweet.
The scale assigns each pepper a specific rating called Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). These units tell us how much capsaicin is packed into each pepper. The higher the SHUs, the hotter the pepper.
The Origins of the Scoville Scale
The scale was devised by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he did not have a low tolerance to heat.
Scoville wanted to develop a failsafe way of measuring how hot peppers are. Not just any peppers, but the capsicum family, which gives us peppers and chillies.
But how was he able to measure the pepper heat levels as objectively as possible? Scoville came up with something called the Scoville Organoleptic Test.
How does the Scoville Scale Measure a Pepper’s Heat?
Here’s the process of the Scoville Organoleptic Test in simple terms:
- Extracting Heat: The process starts by taking an extract of capsaicinoids from a pepper.
- Mixing and testing: This spicy extract is diluted in a solution of water and sugar until a group of taste-testers can just barely detect the heat of the pepper.
- Dilution counts: The number of times the extract has to be diluted with water to reach that "barely spicy" point becomes the pepper's Scoville rating. So, if a pepper has a rating of 50,000, it means they diluted it 50,000 times before the testers barely felt the heat.
But here's the catch: it's not an exact science. The test relies on people's taste buds, so it's a bit subjective. Factors like where the pepper grows, how mature it is and even the soil it's grown in can affect the rating. That's why the same type of pepper might vary in spiciness and therefore SHUs.
While most people still doubt the relevance of a Scoville Scale today due to its intense taste-testing requirements, it still remains one of the most authentic methods of measuring pepper heat levels. This scale comes in handy when you want to upgrade your spice tolerance slowly and gradually, so you know what you’re letting yourself in for when you buy a new hot sauce.
Now you know, have a hunt around House of Habanero - the UAE’s first one-stop shop for all things spicy - and find the right sauce, with the perfect amount of SHUs, for you. From mild to wild, discover a selection of sauces from all rankings on the Scoville Scale.
Photo credit: Wilbur Scoville: - Henrietta Benedictis Health Sciences Library, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences