The Scoville Scale
A scale developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, to measure the heat level in
chillies. It was first a subjective taste test, but since, it has been
refined by the use of HPLC, the unit is named in honour of its inventor.
The test officially measures the pungency level of a given pepper. There are other methods, but the Scoville Scale remains the most widely used and respected. The greater the number of Scoville units, the hotter the pepper. Of course, being a natural product, the heat can vary from pepper to pepper, so this scale should be considered a guide.
The test officially measures the pungency level of a given pepper. There are other methods, but the Scoville Scale remains the most widely used and respected. The greater the number of Scoville units, the hotter the pepper. Of course, being a natural product, the heat can vary from pepper to pepper, so this scale should be considered a guide.
List of Scoville ratings
Rating | Chilli |
2000000 | Carolina Reaper |
2000000 | Trinidad moruga scorpion |
1400000 | Trinidad Scorpion |
1382000 | Naga Viper pepper |
1080000 | Spanish Naga Chilli Pepper |
1067286 | Infinity Chilli |
1000000 | Bhut Jolokia |
923000 | The Naga Dorset Pepper |
855000 | The Naga Jolokia |
577000 | Red Savina pepper |
350000 | Scotch bonnet |
350000 | Habanero |
225000 | Birds Eye pepper |
140000 | Pequin pepper |
110000 | Bahamian pepper |
100000 | Chiltepin pepper |
75000 | Red Amazon Pepper |
50000 | Cayenne |
30000 | De Arbol pepper |
30000 | Manzano pepper |
25000 | Serrano pepper |
25000 | Rocotillo pepper |
23000 | Peter pepper |
10000 | Jalapeño |
5000 | Guajillo Chilli |
2500 | Banana Pepper |
2500 | Anaheim pepper |
2000 | Ancho pepper |
2000 | Kashmirir Chilli |
1000 | Cubanelle Pepper |
900 | Pimento |
700 | Santa Fe Grande pepper |