Scoville Scale

According to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia): “The Scoville scale is the measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers. The number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes.”

Yikes, right? Just reading that makes me start to sweat! We’ve reproduced the standardized Scoville chart straight from WikiPedia. Grab some tissues and read on!

Scoville Ratings of Chemicals

Scoville heat units Examples
16,000,000,000 Resiniferatoxin
5,300,000,000 Tinyatoxin
16,000,000 Capsaicin
15,000,000 Dihydrocapsaicin
9,200,000 Nonivamide
9,100,000 Nordihydrocapsaicin
8,600,000 Homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin
160,000 Shogaol
100,000-200,000 Piperine
60,000 Gingerol
16,000 Capsiate

Scoville Ratings of Peppers

Scoville heat units Examples
1,500,000–3,000,000 Most law enforcement grade pepper spray, Pepper X, Carolina Reaper, Dragon’s breath
750,000–1,500,000 Trinidad moruga scorpion, Naga Viper pepper, Infinity chili, Ghost pepper
350,000–750,000 Red Savina habanero
100,000–350,000 Habanero chili, Scotch bonnet pepper, Peruvian white habanero, Guyana Wiri Wiri
50,000–100,000 Byadgi chili, Bird’s eye chili (a.k.a. Thai chili pepper), Malagueta pepper
25,000–50,000 Guntur chilli, Cayenne pepper
10,000–25,000 Serrano pepper, Aleppo pepper, Cheongyang chili pepper
2,500–10,000 Espelette pepper, Jalapeño pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper
1,000–2,500 Anaheim pepper, Poblano pepper
100–1000 Banana pepper, Cubanelle
0-100 Bell pepper, Pimento, Banana pepper