Scoville Heat Units For Peppers (SHU)

Scientific research and the Guinness Book of World Records has revealed to us which is the hottest pepper in the world. But how can measure something like hotness or spiciness? Isn’t hotness subjective? To some degree, it is. But there is a definitive way to gauge the hotness of foods. It’s called the Scoville scale, and it helps us quantify what we already know about some of the hottest peppers in the world: these little chilis are intense!

The Scoville scale is named for its creator, Wilbur Scoville, an American chemist. In 1912, he devised the Scoville Organoleptic Test while working for Park-Davis, a pharmaceutical test. His goal was to measure the piquancy (i.e. hotness) of chile peppers. This method directly measures the capsaicinoid content of the pepper.

Capsaicinoid is an organic compound produced by chili peppers. The main capsaicinoids, called capsaicin, is responsible for causing that burning sensation when it comes in contact with your taste buds (and other areas on your body). The reaction that capsaicin causes results in actual pain, and your body reacts accordingly, causing sweating, release of endorphins and muscle contractions. The more capsaicin that’s in a pepper, the greater the burning sensation.

The Scoville scale measures the hotness of a food or substance on a scale of 0 to 16 million Scoville heat units (SHU). Zero Scoville heat units represents no spiciness or heat, while the top of the scale—16 million Scoville heat units—is pure capsaicin. According to Material Safety Data Sheet for capsaicin, a 47.2 mg/kg dose of capsaicin has acute toxicity effects on humans, and can even lead to death.

So, when you eat very, very spicy foods or hot peppers, you are, in a sense, playing with fire.

When selecting peppers or attempting to gauge the relative hotness of each pepper, the Scoville scale can be useful for comparison purposes. Note, however, that while certain breeds of hot pepper have been known to fall within a certain range, depending on the conditions where it was grown, it may be hotter or sweeter than rated.  No matter what the Scoville scale says about the pepper you’re eating, you should certainly exercise caution when handling or consuming hot peppers.

The Scoville scale is the rating that is used to determine the hottest pepper in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records. Scoville heat units are also used among pepper cultivators and vendors, so it’s a good idea to have this page bookmarked as a reference. As more peppers are discovered and studied, we’ll be updating this page with the latest information about peppers and how they rate on the Scoville scale.

Have you been looking for a scoville scale for peppers, but can’t find one with very much information? We have taken the time to not only list each peppers SHU (scoville heat units), but also give you detailed information about each of the peppers.

Our website is very new and we will be adding more information and resources over time. We hope you enjoy the information we have collected.

Here is our list of some of the hottest peppers in the world, down to the sweetest peppers in the world…

Pepper Extracts…
Scoville Units                Peppers/Pepper Extracts
16,000,000                   Pure Capsaicin
8,600,000                     Homodihydrocapsaicin
5,300,000                     Police Grade Pepper Spray
2,000,000                     Common Pepper Spray

Peppers of The World…

1,463,700 Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
855,000-1,041,427 Bhut Jolokia
800,000-1,000,000 Trinidad Scorpion Pepper
350,000-580,000 Red Savina Habanero
100,000-350,000 Habanero Pepper
100,000-325,000 Scotch Bonnet
100,000-225,000 Bird’s Eye Pepper
100,000-200,000 Jamaican Hot Pepper
100,000-125,000 Carolina Cayenne Pepper
95,000-110,000 Bahamian Pepper
85,000-115,000 Tabiche Pepper
50,000-100,000 Chiltepin Pepper
50,000-100,000 Thai Pepper
40,000-58,000 Pequin Pepper
40,000-50,000 Santaka Pepper
40,000-50,000 Super Chili Pepper
30,000-50,000 Cayenne Pepper
30,000-50,000 Tabasco Pepper
15,000-30,000 De Arbol Pepper
12,000-30,000 Manzano Pepper
5,000-23,000 Serrano Pepper
5,000-10,000 Chipotle Pepper
5,000-10,000 Hot Wax Pepper
2,500-8,000 Jalapeno Pepper
2,500-5,000 Guajillo Pepper
1,500-2,500 Rocotilla Pepper
1,000-2,000 Ancho Pepper
1,000-2,000 Poblano Pepper
1,000-2,000 Pasilla Pepper
700-1000 Coronado Pepper
500-2,500 Anaheim Pepper
500-1,000 New Mexico Pepper
500-700 Santa Fe Grande Pepper
100-500 Pimento Pepper
100-500 Pepperoncini Pepper
0 Sweet Bell Pepper

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