Subject: Re: Hot Peppers, Which ones are the hottest?

From: [email-masked] (Steve E. Mercer)
Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 22:15:29 GMT

In article [email-masked],  [email-masked] (RElectroni) writes:
>I thought the "Habanero" was the hottest but, I was told the "Serano" is
>hottest.  Can anybody tell me which one is hotter and how you pick them
>{when are they ripe}?
>
>E-mail a copy to me
>[email-masked]
>CC to [email-masked]

[the following info has been extracted from postings on various newsgroups]

Here are the scoville units for some chilies:
 
        approx Scoville units           variety
        ---------------------           --------------------------
        300,000 - 600,000               red savina habanero
        100,000 - 300,000               bahamiam, habenero
         50,000 - 100,000               tai, chiltecpin
         30,000 -  50,000               pequin, cayenne, tabasco
         15,000 -  30,000               deArbol
          5,000 -  15,000               yellow wax, serrano
          2,500 -   5,000               jalapeno, mirasol
          1,500 -   2,500               sandia, casabel, rocotillo
          1,000 -   1,500               ancho, pasilla
            500 -   1,000               big jim, anaheim
            100 -     500               el paso, cherry
                        0               bell pepper, pimento

The Scoville unit is a rating system for hotness.  Its inventor
was searching for a to assign a scale to perceived chili hotness.
Traditionally it was done by diluting a chili's oil until the
human taster's tongue didn't detect the hotness.  Today there are
special machines that can perform the rating without getting
palate fatigue - a good thing if you want to buy a canned assortment
of chilies that have a rating on the label.

Remember that each chile can vary, even if they come from the 
same plant.  You can get wimpy habaneros and anaheims that will
nearly send you to the hospital from terminal burnout.

Also, there are 5 different chemicals in the capsaicin group and
each one affects different regions in the mouth.  Some very hot
chiles (like the chiltepin or chiltecpin) affect only the lip
area and then the heat fades very quickly.  On the other hand,
jalapenos seem to affect all areas of the mouth, especially the
throat.  The heat from chiltepins never reaches that far back.

Each chile also has a different taste. 
Moral:  Always taste test your chiles.
---
Steve Mercer
[email-masked]