The Scoville Unit is the measurement of heat in a pepper or sauce. It is named after a chemist in the early nineteen hundreds by the name of Wilbur Scoville. While working for a pharmaceutical company, he decided to devise a scale of heat for chile peppers.
The test involves the dilusion of a quantity of pepper until it can no longer be detected. It is recorded in units of 100. The test is called the "Scoville Organoleptic Test." This highly subjective method is no longer employed. These days, a sophisticated device called a liquid chromatographer is used. Out of reverence, it is still called the "Scoville Unit."
To date, the hottest chile pepper in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records is the "Red Savina" habanero. It measured an amazing 577,000 Scoville Units. To put it into perspective, an average habanero is around 100,000 to 200,000. A jalapeno ranks from 5,000 to 7,000. The hottest product on the market is The Source made by Original Juan. This pure extract is a mind-blowing 7.1 MILLION Scoville Units. Pure crystalline capsaicin is 16 million Scoville Units.
When spicy foods are consumed, the common reaction of the body is to sweat, particularly on the forehead. The technical term for this is gustatory perspiration. |
