# Scoville Heat Index for Peppers



## Daphne duLibre (Jul 29, 2005)

*Scoville Heat Unit Scale*

*Pepper       Type* *Heat       rating (in Scoville heat units)
*
*Habanero* *200,000-300,000* 

*Red       Amazon* *75,000* 

*Pequin* *75,000* *

Chiltecepin* *70,000       - 75,000* 

*Tabasco* *30,000       - 50,000* 

*Cayenne* *35,000* *

Arbol* *25,000* 

*Japone* *25,000* 

*Smoked       Jalapeno (Chipotle)* *10,000* 

*Serrano* *7,000       - 25,000* 

*Puya* *5,000* *

Guajillo* *5,000*

*Jalapeno* *3,500       - 4,500* 

*Poblano* *2,500       - 3,000* 

*Pasilla* *2,500* 

*TAM       Mild Jalapeno* *1,000       - 1,500* *

Anaheim* *1,000       - 1,400* 

*New       Mexican* *1,000* 

*Ancho* *1,000* 

*Bell       & Pimento* *0*


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## kleenex (Jul 29, 2005)

Well I would put both the Scotch Bonnet and the Habanero in the 100,000 to 300,000 SHU range


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## SpiceUmUp (Jul 29, 2005)

Botanicly speaking, Scotch Bonnet and Habanero peppers are one and the same. They differ in where they are grown but the are the same pepper.

Orange habaneros are perhaps the most common and are originally from the Yucatán Peninsula. They are grown commercially in California and Texas, and in home gardens all over the country. They typically measure 80,000 to 200,000 Scoville Units.
Red habaneros are grown commercially in Costa Rica and California. The 'Red Savina' variety from GNS Spices, Inc. is the first member of the species to be awarded a Plant Variety Protection permit from the USDA. 'Red Savina' is also the hottest pepper ever tested, at 577,000 Scoville Units.
Datil peppers are a somewhat milder variety with elongated pods that is grown around St. Augustine, Florida. We estimate their heat to be around 40,000 Scoville Units.
Scotch bonnets are the typical, tam-shaped chiles of the Caribbean. They are also called booney peppers, bonney peppers, and goat peppers on various islands. They are usually red or yellow at maturity. They are about 100,000 Scoville Units.


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## Daphne duLibre (Jul 30, 2005)

I very distincly remember my grandfather -- circa 1960, nearly a half century ago -- sweat all over and tears running down his face as he at tamales. 

My reaction was, "What's the point?" 

If you remove the seeds, web and glandular structure around the stem of a pepper, you remove most of the "heat" and have a "fruity" pepper. 

I like the fruit of peppers. I'm not looking to set the world ablaze.


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## kleenex (Jul 30, 2005)

Remove the seeds, remove the fun.


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## jennyema (Jul 30, 2005)

SpiceUmUp said:
			
		

> Botanicly speaking, Scotch Bonnet and Habanero peppers are one and the same. They differ in where they are grown but the are the same pepper.


 

Actually, they are not the literally same pepper. Botanically speaking, they are close cousins. Both the Scotch Bonnet and Habanero peppers are from the same species, Capsicum chinense, but technically they are different varieties.

They actaully taste a bit different, as well, with the SB usually tasting a bit fruitier, at least to me. Similar heat unless you are talking the red sav, which is considerably hotter. That's what is growing (I hope .. the plants are a bit stunted) in my garden.

I would grow SB's but I can't find the pants up here. maybe I'll try from seeds sometime.



"Many people assume that the Scotch bonnet is another name for the habanero, but they are two varieties of the same species. They have similar heat level and flavor; the most notable difference is the shape. The habanero is a cultivar; the Scotch bonnet a true variety."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habanero

and http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=habanero+%22scotch+bonnet%22&spell=1

And USDA


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## Daphne duLibre (Jul 30, 2005)

*"A Rose By Any Other Name . . . "*



			
				jennyema said:
			
		

> Actually, they are not the same pepper. Botanically speaking, they are close cousins. otter.IMO they taste a bit different, as well. Similar heat unless you are talking the red sav, which is considerably h
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Now this is getting esoteric! 

Habanero, just FYI is named after Havana, Cuba -- which in Espanol is spelled "Habana." 

If memory serves, the taxonomic order of things goes: "Class, Genus, Species." Species being the most discrete classification . . . although there are raging debates in the world of biology/botany about "sub-species" and what constitutes a "sub-species." 

A true variety demonstrates "variation" in a natural environment. "Cultivar" as the name suggests is a variety that has been specifically cultivated. Cultivars abound in roses . . . 

Interesting discussion here. I never paid much attention to Scotch Bonnets / Habaneros -- I had a Habanero once in a salmon dish. Heat had been tamed through deveining, seeding, and cooking. Mostly, I avoid food which requires haz-mat gloves to handle. 

What seems more a point of discussion is the distinction between "peppers" and "chilis."  The story I get is that Columbus was  looking for  peppers when he arrived in the New World, and so he  called a  lot of  chilis "peppers." 

The term "chili pepper" just further confuses the issue. 

The "Green Pepper" is technically a chili.


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## SpiceUmUp (Jul 30, 2005)

The *Scotch bonnet* (_Capsicum chinense_) is a variety of chile, similar to, and of the same species as the habanero. It is found mainly in the Caribbean islands, with a shape resembling a Scot's bonnet. Most Scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 150,000–325,000 Scoville Units.

These peppers are used in many different sauces worldwide. These peppers are also known to cause dizziness, numbness of hands and cheeks as well as severe heartburn, if eaten raw.


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## RPCookin (Jul 31, 2005)

The Scoville ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt too, as seemingly identical peppers can vary widely in the heat they produce. My wife had Chiles Rellenos in La Paz, Baja California several years ago. The plate came with 2 apparently identical stuffed Poblano peppers After 2 bites, she said that they were way too hot for her, and ate everything else on her plate, then asked me if I wanted the second pepper. I took it and gingerly tested it, and found it as mild as a green bell pepper. Then I tried a bite of the one she had eaten from and thought I was eating raw habaneros. I've also seen big (though not as dramatic as that) differences in jalapenos, seranos, and other types. 

I like to cook with peppers, but I generally go easy until I know what I have....


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## Bangbang (Jul 31, 2005)

My family are all Pepper Heads. Just love pepers of all varieties and heat. This started with my father. I was a thumb sucker as a kid and he and my mother would rub hot peppers on my thumb.  I took this to the top in my adult years by eating the hottest peppers I could find with buttermilk and bread. Years ago......I gave my youngest daughter a whole habanaro after picking her up from work..........she compalined that she was tired and her feet hurt. She ate the pepper and within a few seconds was cursing me out. However one half hour later she ate another because of the endorphine rush she got from the first pepper. She started eating these every morning instead of drinking coffee. I myself keep several hot sauces in my house for those HOT Sauce Parties.......lots of buttermilk,beer,corn chips,fresh italian bread,and butter. I personally don't use anything over 50,000 scoville units for cooking. But I like a good splash of the hottest on corn chips a few times a week. I am eatin chips with Daves Insanity Sauce as I post this. Yummy!


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## jennyema (Aug 1, 2005)

RPCookin said:
			
		

> The Scoville ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt too, as seemingly identical peppers can vary widely in the heat they produce. My wife had Chiles Rellenos in La Paz, Baja California several years ago. The plate came with 2 apparently identical stuffed Poblano peppers After 2 bites, she said that they were way too hot for her, and ate everything else on her plate, then asked me if I wanted the second pepper. I took it and gingerly tested it, and found it as mild as a green bell pepper. Then I tried a bite of the one she had eaten from and thought I was eating raw habaneros. I've also seen big (though not as dramatic as that) differences in jalapenos, seranos, and other types.
> 
> I like to cook with peppers, but I generally go easy until I know what I have....


 

This is very true because of all the cross breeding in the pepper world.

It can also happen in your garden through cross pollination.


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## jennyema (Aug 1, 2005)

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_hab.html


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## FoodDude (Aug 1, 2005)

Diced a habanaro and tossed it in a soup.

There is a problem with this.  It's not so much the heat in the soup as soup can easily get around your lips/chin.  Parts of my face burned for 4 hours.  I was at work, otherwise I would have given myself a yogurt facial!


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## jennyema (Aug 1, 2005)

FoodDude said:
			
		

> Parts of my face burned for 4 hours.  l!


 



Been there!


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## GB (Aug 1, 2005)

jennyema said:
			
		

> Been there!


Me too although it has not always been my face or hands


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## kitchenelf (Aug 1, 2005)

GB said:
			
		

> Me too although it has not always been my face or hands



Oh my


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## middie (Aug 1, 2005)

GB said:
			
		

> Me too although it has not always been my face or hands


 
gb we don't even want to know


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## GB (Aug 1, 2005)

Yeah that was a mistake I only made once. I sure learned the value of using gloves!

Actually it is kind of interesting...this happened from jalopeno peppers that my brother grew and gave me. I was making chili and used those peppers. I did not use gloves. I tasted the peppers as I was chopping them and there was NO heat whatsoever. I am talking zero heat. Well just so everyone knows and does not make the same mistake I made, just because you don't feel the heat on your tongue does not mean that you wont feel it on your skin. I was in pain (lots of pain) for 7 or 8 days on many parts of my body. Water seemed to re-activate the pain so every morning when I took my shower it was horrible.


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## FoodDude (Aug 1, 2005)

I've talked with a guy that grows the Red Savina's.

Try a bucket of pure mush on ye ol' crotch.


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## Bangbang (Aug 1, 2005)

RPCookin said:
			
		

> The Scoville ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt too, as seemingly identical peppers can vary widely in the heat they produce. My wife had Chiles Rellenos in La Paz, Baja California several years ago. The plate came with 2 apparently identical stuffed Poblano peppers After 2 bites, she said that they were way too hot for her, and ate everything else on her plate, then asked me if I wanted the second pepper. I took it and gingerly tested it, and found it as mild as a green bell pepper. Then I tried a bite of the one she had eaten from and thought I was eating raw habaneros. I've also seen big (though not as dramatic as that) differences in jalapenos, seranos, and other types.
> 
> I like to cook with peppers, but I generally go easy until I know what I have....


 
Yep! My dad invited me over to try some hungarian wax peppers he had grown. I have eatin alot of these before. Ok....so I take a couple bites and they are not hot at all...he says keep eating them....I did and suddenly found my mouth on fire. Real wierd.


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## Ekim (Oct 7, 2005)

I love my Hungarian Wax peppers.  I made Italian style stuffed peppers and they have a pleasant heat.  They got my mouth all warm and happy.  No gassiness afterwards, either.

But my Poblanos are so dang hot I have not a clue what to do with them.  I burned my face touching it.  I thought they were far more mild then they are.  Maybe they're easier to take when they're green?  The one I cut up was one I let get bright red.


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