The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency of chili peppers, as recorded in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, whose 1912 method is known as the Scoville organoleptic test. The Scoville organoleptic test is the most practical method for estimating SHU and is a subjective assessment derived from the capsaicinoid sensitivity by people experienced with eating hot chilis.
Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is a chemical irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. Capsaicin and several related alkaloids are called capsaicinoids and are produced as secondary metabolites by chili peppers, probably as deterrents against certain mammals and fungi. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, highly pungent, crystalline to waxy solid compound.
The bell pepper is the fruit of plants in the Grossum cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent chili varieties as "sweet peppers". While they are fruits—botanically classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish. The fruits of the Capsicum genus are categorized as chili peppers.
Chili peppers, from Nahuatl chīlli, are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add "heat" to dishes. Capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids are the substances giving chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Other varieties of capsicum include bell peppers, but while chili peppers are pungent, bell peppers are not.
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray, mace is a lachrymatory agent used in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, temporarily taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath.
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chile pepper pod type cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum. A mature jalapeño chile is 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of 25–38 mm wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scoville heat units of 4,000 to 8,500. Commonly picked and consumed while still green, it is occasionally allowed to fully ripen and turn red, orange, or yellow. It is wider and generally milder than the similar Serrano pepper.
Capsicum pubescens is a plant of the genus Capsicum (pepper). The species name, pubescens, refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. The hairiness of the leaves, along with the black seeds, make Capsicum pubescens distinguishable from other Capsicum species. Capsicum pubescens has pungent yellow, orange, red, green or brown fruits.
Homodihydrocapsaicin is a capsaicinoid and analog and congener of capsaicin in chili peppers (Capsicum). Like capsaicin it is an irritant. Homodihydrocapsaicin accounts for about 1% of the total capsaicinoids mixture and has about half the pungency of capsaicin. Pure homodihydrocapsaicin is a lipophilic colorless odorless crystalline to waxy compound. It produces "numbing burn" in the throat and is one of the most prolonged and difficult to rinse out. On the Scoville scale it has 8,600,000 SHU.
Homocapsaicin is a capsaicinoid and analog and congener of capsaicin in chili peppers (Capsicum). Like capsaicin it is an irritant. Homocapsaicin accounts for about 1% of the total capsaicinoids mixture and has about half the pungency of capsaicin. Pure homocapsaicin is a lipophilic colorless odorless crystalline to waxy compound. On the Scoville scale it has 8,600,000 SHU. Homocapsaicin isolated from chili pepper has been found in two isomeric forms, both with a carbon-carbon double bond at the 6 position on the 10-carbon acyl chain. One isomer has an additional carbon, a methyl group, at the 8 position and the other has a methyl group at the 9 position. Homocapsaicin (6-ene-8-methyl) is the more abundant isomer. Homocapsaicin with the double bond at the 7 position has never been found in nature, though its structure is widely reported on the Internet and in the scientific literature. Details of this misidentification have been published.
Nonivamide, also called pelargonic acid vanillylamide or PAVA, is an organic compound and a capsaicinoid. It is an amide of pelargonic acid and vanillyl amine. It is present in chili peppers, but is commonly manufactured synthetically. It is more heat-stable than capsaicin.
Padrón peppers, also called Herbón peppers, are a variety of peppers from the municipality of Padrón in northwestern Spain.
The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant. Developed by US breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. In 2013, Guinness World Records declared it the hottest chili pepper in the world, surpassing the previous record holder, the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T".
The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens.
New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile is a cultivar group of the chile pepper from the US state of New Mexico, first grown by Pueblo and Hispano communities throughout Santa Fe de Nuevo México. These landrace chile plants were used to develop the modern New Mexico chile peppers by horticulturist Dr. Fabián García and his students, including Dr. Roy Nakayama, at what is now New Mexico State University in 1894. New Mexico chile, which typically grows from a green to a ripened red, is popular in the cuisines of the Southwestern United States, including Sonoran and Arizonan cuisine, and an integral staple of New Mexican cuisine. It is also sometimes featured in the broader Mexican cuisine. Chile is one of New Mexico's state vegetables, and is referenced in the New Mexico state question "Red or Green?".
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit.
The habanero is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 centimetres long. Habanero chilis are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero's heat, flavor and floral aroma make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
Capsicum eximium is a member of the genus Capsicum with 2n=2x=24, and native to the New World, specifically the Andean region of South America. It is one of the "purple-flowered" Capsicums along with Capsicum cardenasii and Capsicum pubescens. Like most other chili peppers, it is both pungent and self-compatible. It is a member of the Pubescenscomplex, a natural group of highly related Capsicums. Natural hybrids between C. pubescens as well as C. tovarii have been found, further supporting the relationship of these species.
The Chimayópepper is a New Mexico chile pepper landrace of the species Capsicum annuum. It is named after the town of Chimayó, New Mexico, where roughly 200 hectares of Chimayó peppers are harvested annually. It is considered one of the two best chiles in the state, the others being those grown in Hatch. The pepper is so prized that powdered Chimayó pepper can cost as much as $45 per pound. Chimayó chiles have a complex flavor described as sweet and smoky, and are extremely popular in New Mexican cuisine for making posole and carne adovada.
Especially among growers in the US, the UK, and Australia, there has been a competition since the 1990s to grow the hottest chili pepper. Chili pepper species and cultivars registering over 1,000,000 Scoville Heat units (SHU) are called "super-hots".
