Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
This is a list of capsaicinoids, a class of compound found in members of the capsicum family. They are the chemical responsible for making chili peppers hot . The heat intensity of capsaicinoids is measured in Scoville heat units (SCU) by the Scoville heat scale .
The Scoville scale is a measurement of pungency (spiciness or "heat") of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids , among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
Capsaicin is a potent defense mechanism for chilies, but it does come at a cost. Varying levels of capsaicin in chilies currently appear to be caused by an evolutionary split between surviving in dry environments, and having defense mechanisms against fungal growth, insects, and granivorous mammals. [87]
The term piquancy (/ ˈ p iː k ən s i /) is sometimes applied to foods with a lower degree of pungency [4] that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate". Examples of piquant food include mustard and curry. The primary substances responsible for pungent taste are capsaicin, piperine (in peppers) and allyl isothiocyanate (in radish, mustard ...
The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chili pepper. It is the degree of dilution in sugar water of a specific chili pepper extract when a panel of 5 tasters can no longer detect its "heat". [112] Pure capsaicin (the chemical responsible for the "heat") has 16 million Scoville heat units.
Like capsaicin it is an irritant. Homocapsaicin accounts for about 1% of the total capsaicinoids mixture [2] 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 (Scoville heat units). [1]
The strength of Blair's hottest product, "Blair's 16 Million Reserve", is 16 million Scoville units (Tabasco, in comparison, is 2,500 to 5,000 [3] Scoville units). It contains only capsaicin crystals, and is the hottest possible capsaicin-based sauce. Only 999 bottles of "Blair's 16 Million Reserve" were produced, each one signed and numbered ...
The article states "15 Scoville units is equivalent to one part capsaicin per million." Logically, the maximum value on the scale can then only be 15 * 1 million parts per million = 15.000.000 SCU, no 16 million as the list states.