Chili Pepper News — Scoville scale

The Scoville Scale is a measure of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers and other spicy foods. Developed in 1912 by American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the scale was created to quantify the heat level of various peppers in a standardized way. But what prompted the creation of this scale, and how has it evolved over the years? Let's dive into the history and significance of the Scoville Scale.

When it comes to measuring the heat of hot sauces and chili peppers, the Scoville scale stands as the ultimate reference point.

When it comes to spicy food, some people love it, and other people, well we won’t talk about that. Obviously, everyone’s different when it comes to how much spice they can handle. Some people prefer their peppers on the extra mild side, while others really like to spice things up. No matter your individual preference for the hot scale, you’ve probably had at least one experience where you felt like your mouth was on fire. The thing is, that scorching pain you felt didn’t really mean your mouth was on fire at all. You’re not really burning your tongue when...

If you’ve ever wondered just how hot a hot chili pepper can really get, enter the Scoville Scale. That’s the scale that helps measure the heat of hot chili peppers. The scale gets its name from none other than Wilbur Scoville. He was an American pharmacist who came up with something in the early 1900s called the Scoville organoleptic test. That test estimated the Scoville Heat Units, or SHU, with each type of pepper.