Chili Pepper News — 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.

You may be more than ready to add chilies to your diet, but how do you know you’re choosing the right ones? The type of chili you choose often comes down to personal taste. While some people like things extra spicy, others like their food more on the mild side.