What is the Scoville Hot Peppers Scale?
Imagine the Scoville scale like a ruler that measures how spicy a pepper is. It’s named after a scientist named Wilbur Scoville who wanted to know how hot peppers are.
Here’s how it works:
Mild peppers like bell peppers are at the bottom of the scale. They aren’t spicy at all—you can eat them and it won’t make your mouth burn.
Medium peppers like jalapeños are a little spicy. They might make your tongue tingle, but it’s usually okay.
Super hot peppers like the Carolina Reaper are at the top of the scale. Eating them is like a fire alarm in your mouth—very, very hot!
Scientists used to test peppers by mixing them with sugar water and seeing how much it took to stop the burn. The more sugar water needed, the hotter the pepper. Now, they have machines that can measure it more exactly.
So, the Scoville scale is just a way to rank peppers from not spicy to super-duper spicy.
Activity:
- Teachers:
- Cut peppers into really small pieces if you're sharing with students. Peppers are hot, so a tiny bit goes a long way.
- Wear gloves when handling peppers to avoid skin irritation .
- Remind students not to touch their eyes or nose (mucous membrane) when handling peppers.
- Milk is a good antidote to the peppery heat*
- Students:
- Try to determine the pepper variety we grew and harvested based on the pictures.
- Did you taste it? What do you think?
- Where does it rank on the scale?
- What are products contain capsaicin?
See if you can learn how to make and store dried pepper flakes.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of really spicy food. However, I do like the flavor of pepper if it is nicely balanced in the food I'm eating. A great example is Thai food. It can usually be ordered spicy, medium, or mild. I always go with the mild. I can taste the pepper, but it doesn't burn so much. Bon Appétit!
*Milk can help reduce the burning sensation from pepper because it contains casein, a protein that binds to and washes away capsaicin, the compound that causes the burn. It's best to hold the milk in your mouth for a moment to allow it to work before swallowing. Water does not work as well because it can spread the oil-based capsaicin instead of removing it.
