GOT a passion for hot and spicy food? Do you like the heat of jalape帽o? What about Tabasco? Cayenne? If a jalape帽o chilli pepper is all it takes to make you drip with sweat, then you may want to avoid the US National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, next weekend. On display will be the largest collection of hot and spicy products ever assembled in the US. Exactly how hot is hot? That鈥檚 where the Scoville scale comes in.
The Scoville scale was devised by American chemist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. To assign ratings to different chillies, a panel of tasters tried watered-down samples to find the concentration at which the burning sensation disappeared. The degree of dilution gave a score on the Scoville scale 鈥� the hotter the chilli, the higher the rating. Cayenne pepper has to be diluted 40,000-fold before it loses its bite, so it is said to contain 40,000 Scoville heat units (SHU).
鈥淲hy humans get a buzz from eating chilli is a mystery鈥�
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The fieriness of chilli peppers is down to a family of molecules called capsaicinoids, the main culprit of which is capsaicin. Biting into a hot chilli may be excruciating, but capsaicinoids don鈥檛 cause any actual bodily harm. The burning sensation comes because they bind to nerve endings on the tongue that usually detect high temperatures, sending pain signals to the brain. Why humans get such a buzz from eating chilli is a mystery, but it could be down to the endorphins released in response to the pain.
These days, Scoville ratings are no longer determined by anything as subjective as taste. Instead, the concentration of capsaicinoids is measured by high-performance liquid chromatography.
So how much heat can you take? If you think that chewing a jalape帽o is quite a feat, then prepare to be disappointed. This type of chilli comes relatively low on the Scoville scale, with between 2500 and 8000 SHU depending on the climate and soil where it is grown. Swallowing a habanero is more impressive, with 100,000 to 350,000 SHU. Researchers cannot agree on which variety is the world鈥檚 hottest chilli pepper. The Red Savina holds the Guinness World Record with 580,000 SHU at its hottest, but scientists in India claim Naga Jolokia is even hotter at 855,000 SHU.
One way to improve your tolerance is to eat more chilli, as eventually the nerve endings on your tongue will become desensitised. Whatever your tolerance, if you go to the Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show next weekend, make sure you don鈥檛 accidentally taste some 16 Million Reserve 鈥� the hottest chilli product money can buy. Made of pure capsaicin, it scores a whopping 16 million on the Scoville scale. One drop would have to be diluted with 800 litres to take away its heat. Ouch.