Heat Scale of Chili Peppers
“The Hippy Seed Company’s Heat Scale”
Why are chilies hot? What causes your eyes to water, your nose to run, and your mouth to feel like it’s on fire? It is not the seeds but the capsaicin – the chili oil.
At The Hippy Seed Company, we have created a heat scale to help you understand the spiciness of our chilies. Our scale is categorized into five levels: mild, medium, upper mid-heat, hot, and extreme heat.
Here is our heat scale from 1-15:
- Mild: 1-3/15
- Medium: 4-6/15
- Upper Mid Heat: 7-9/15
- Hot: 10-12/15
- Extreme: 13-15/15
The official method for measuring chili heat is the Scoville Scale, which quantifies the concentration of capsaicin. Before the discovery of super-hot varieties like the 7 Pot peppers, Nagas, and Scorpion Peppers, a common scale was 1-10, with habaneros rated as 10. However, with the introduction of peppers like the Bhut Jolokia, which is nearly twice as hot as the Red Savina habanero and measured at 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the 10-point scale became insufficient.
Facts About Chilli and Capsaicin
Humans have been cultivating chilies for thousands of years. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that scientists identified the pain receptors responsible for detecting capsaicin, the chemical causing the burning sensation. Recent research has revealed why chilies evolved to be spicy and has led to the cultivation of varieties up to 300 times hotter than the well-known Jalapeno.
Capsaicin is hydrophobic, meaning it does not dissolve in water but easily dissolves in fats and oils. To alleviate the burn, use full cream milk rather than water. Water will spread the capsaicin oil, intensifying the burn.
The hottest part of chili is not the seeds but the white flesh that houses them, known as the placenta. When you cut an extremely hot pepper, you’ll often see capsaicin ooze out, forming a small pool at the bottom of the chili.