The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency of chili peppers and other spicy foods, 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.
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 colours, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers". While they are fruits—botanically classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish.
The chili pepper, from Nahuatl chīlli, is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum which are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add heat to dishes. The substances giving chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin and related compounds known as capsaicinoids.
A chipotle, or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern dishes. It comes in different forms, such as chipotles en adobo.
Hot sauce, also known as chili sauce or pepper sauce, is any condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients.
Lobularia maritima syn. Alyssum maritimum, common name sweet alyssum or sweet alison, also commonly referred to as just alyssum is a species of low-growing flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.
Capsicum frutescens is a species of chili pepper that is sometimes considered to be part of the species Capsicum annuum. Pepper cultivars of C. frutescens can be annual or short-lived perennial plants. Flowers are white with a greenish white or greenish yellow corolla, and are either insect- or self-pollinated. The plants' berries typically grow erect; ellipsoid-conical to lanceoloid shaped. They are usually very small and pungent, growing 10–20 millimetres (0.39–0.79 in) long and 3–7 millimetres (0.12–0.28 in) in diameter. Fruit typically grows a pale yellow and matures to a bright red, but can also be other colors. C. frutescens has a smaller variety of shapes compared to other Capsicum species. C. frutescens has been bred to produce ornamental strains, because of its large quantities of erect peppers growing in colorful ripening patterns.
The poblano is a mild chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Dried, it is called ancho or chile ancho, from the Spanish word ancho ("wide"). Stuffed fresh and roasted it is popular in chiles rellenos poblanos.
Capsicum baccatum is a member of the genus Capsicum, and is one of the five domesticated pepper species. The fruit tends to be very pungent, and registers 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville Heat Unit scale.
The banana pepper is a medium-sized member of the chili pepper family that has a mild, tangy taste. While typically bright yellow, it is possible for them to change to green, red, or orange as they ripen. It is often pickled, stuffed or used as a raw ingredient in foods. It is a cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum. Its flavor is not very hot and, as is the case with most peppers, its heat depends on the maturity of the pepper, with the ripest being sweeter than younger ones.
Clethra alnifolia, the coastal sweetpepperbush or summersweet, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clethra of the family Clethraceae, native to eastern North America from southern Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Florida, and west to eastern Texas.
The Aleppo pepper is a variety of Capsicum annuum used as a spice, particularly in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Also known as the Halaby pepper, it starts as pods, which ripen to a burgundy color, and then are semi-dried, de-seeded, then crushed or coarsely ground. The pepper flakes are known in Turkey as pul biber, and in Armenia as Haleb biber. The pepper is named after Aleppo, a long-inhabited city along the Silk Road in northern Syria, and is grown in Syria and Turkey.
The friggitello is a sweet Italian chili pepper of the species Capsicum annuum. It is also known as the Golden Greek pepper, Sweet Italian pepper, or Tuscan pepper. In the United States they may be called "pepperoncini"; they are quite distinct from Italian peperoncini, which are hot Italian chili peppers. In the United States, they may also be called Greek golden pepperoncini peppers or mild golden Salonika peppers. The friggitello is mild with a slight heat and a hint of bitterness, and is sometimes pickled and sold in jars. In Italy the friggitello is most associated with Tuscany. The Greek variety, which is sweeter, is commonly used elsewhere in Europe and the United States.
The Fatalii is a cultivar of the chilli pepper Capsicum chinense developed in southern or central Africa from chilies introduced from the Americas. It is described as having a fruity, citrus flavor with a searing heat comparable to the habanero, to which it is related and from which it may have derived.
The piquillo pepper is a variety of chili, Capsicum annuum, having a sweet taste with no heat, fruits about 7 cm long, well suited for growing in pots, that is traditionally grown in Northern Spain near the town of Lodosa. Its name is derived from the Spanish for "little beak".
The Trinidad Moruga scorpion is a chili pepper native to the district of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago. It currently is ranked as the second-spiciest chili in the world. On February 13, 2012, New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute identified the Trinidad Moruga scorpion as the hottest chili in the world, with a mean heat of more than 1.2 million Scoville heat units (SHUs) and individual plants with a heat of more than 2 million SHUs. According to the Chile Pepper Institute, the previous record holder was the Bhut jolokia of India, as it never accepted the Infinity chili and Naga Viper pepper that were previous record holders per Guinness World Records. The current official world record holder is the Carolina reaper with 1.64 million SHU.
New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile is a group of cultivars 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 heritage chile plants were used to develop the modern New Mexico chile peppers by horticulturist Fabián Garcia and his students, including 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 cuisine of the Southwestern United States, the broader Mexican cuisine, and Sonoran and Arizona cuisine, and an integral staple of New Mexican cuisine. Chile is one of New Mexico's state vegetables, and is referenced in the New Mexico state question "Red or Green?".
The habanero is a hot variety of chili pepper. 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 cm (0.8–2.4 in) 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.
The fish pepper is a pepper cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum. Originating in the Caribbean, it is believed that the fish pepper was brought to the U.S. in the 19th century, where it grew in popularity in the Mid-Atlantic. In these cities, the pepper became a popular ingredient among the Black community and was commonly used in many crab and oyster houses. Due to urbanization, fish peppers declined in popularity in the early 20th century, nearly disappearing. However, it was saved in the 1940s thanks to Horace Pippin, a Black folk painter who lived in Pennsylvania, who provided seeds to H. Ralph Weaver, a beekeeper, in exchange for honey bees. The bees were sought as a folk remedy to treat arthritis. The seeds stayed within the Weaver family, until Weaver's grandson, William Woys Weaver, introduced the seeds to the public via the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook in 1995. As a result, the fish pepper has regained some of its original popularity, with some Mid-Atlantic restaurants using it today.
