What is the Scoville Scale?
The Scoville scale indicates the level of spiciness of chillies. These fruits belonging to the genus Capsicum contain capsaicin, a component that stimulates the heat receptor of the skin, causing the sensation of heat.
This way of measuring spiciness was established by the American chemist Wilbur Scoville in 1912.
Thanks to the heat scale we can find out the amount of capsaicin present in chillies.
For the measurement, an extract of the chilli to be studied is diluted in sugar water and analysed until there is no trace of capsaicin left.
For example, if a chilli has a value of 2,500 on the Scoville scale, this means that in order to get rid of the hot taste in the mixture, we have to add 2,500 parts of sugar water to one part of chilli extract.
The unit of measurement used in the Scoville scale is the SHU (Scoville Heat Units) and ranges from 0, no heat, to 2 million, pure capsaicin.
Here we show you the Scoville Scale rating of some of the chillies we grow.How far will you be able to go?
THE SPICE THERMOMETER
To make it easier to understand the Scoville scale and adapt it to all of you, we have created our own spice thermometer, which you will find in all our products and will help you to know the level of heat you are able to withstand.
How many Scoville units does the hottest chili in the world have?
Currently the world’s hottest chili in the Guinness World Records is the Carolina Reaper, obtained by crossing the Habanero and Naga Jolokia varieties.
The Carolina Reaper chili has between 1,400,000 and 2,200,000 Scoville units. If you are a true spicy revolutionary… dare to try the hottest sauce in the world and enjoy the burning taste!
Recently, however, an unofficial variety of chili has emerged that is considered to be the hottest chili in the world, even hotter than the Carolina Reaper.
This is the Pepper X chili, a variety bred by Ed Currie, the same creator of the Carolina Reaper variety. This pepper has not yet been recognised and is not yet marketed, but it is claimed to be as high as 3,180,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale.