With their more or less spicy flavor, peppers (Capsicum sp.) are essential both in the vegetable garden and on the plate. And, to avoid being surprised by an explosive force in the mouth, a scale of peppers has been established: it allows to measure their intensity.
The Scoville scale, named after its inventor, measures the “heat” of a pepper, its classification has been simplified. Cayenne pepper, Espelette pepper, bird’s eye pepper, Pepper X… Discover which peppers to grow and consume according to your tastes!
Scale of chilli peppers in terms of intensity
The Scoville scale was created in 1912 by scientist Wilbur Scoville. It is used to classify peppers according to their pungency, or pseudo-heat. This sensation is partly caused by capsaicin, a molecule that produces a burning sensation in the mouth in mammals.
This scale is based on Scoville units. For peppers, it currently runs from 0 to 3,180,000 units. A simplified scale has been established and has 11 levels, with 0 being neutral and 10 being explosive! Note that the Scoville scale is also used to measure the heat of peppers.
Complete ranking of the heat of peppers according to the Scoville scale
Here is a simplified ranking, from 0 to 10, of peppers on the Scoville scale, from the most neutral to the most explosive.
0 – Neutral: from 0 to 100 Scoville units
- Bell pepper
Bell peppers are a variety of mild chili pepper, rated from 0 to 100 Scoville units.
1 – Mild: 100 to 500 Scoville units
- Sweet pepper like ‘long des Landes’;
- Sweet paprika: Paprika is a spice produced from sweet peppers or bell peppers. Red in color, it has a pungent and very slightly spicy flavor;
- Vera pepper.
2 – Warm: 500 to 1,000 Scoville units
- Anaheim pepper, or California pepper: With a strength of 500 to 2500 Scoville units, the Anaheim pepper , also called California pepper, is ideal for stuffed peppers;
- Niora pepper;
- Green Tabasco sauce.
3 – Reading: 1,000 to 1,500 Scoville units
- Poblano Pepper: The poblano pepper is a pepper that is very similar to a bell pepper, just a little hotter in terms of heat.
4 – Hot: 1,500 to 2,500 Scoville units
- Espelette pepper: grown in the Basque Country, the famous Espelette pepper benefits from a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). It enhances many recipes with its fruity notes and mild heat, such as chicken basquaise;
- Rocotillo Pepper;
- Bresse pepper.
5 – Strong: 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units
- Chimayo Pepper
- Jalapeno pepper
6 – Fiery: 5,000 to 15,000 Scoville units
- Pili Pili Pepper
- Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper (or Yellow Pepper)
7 – Burning: 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville units
- Cascabel Pepper
- Serrano pepper
- Hari Mirchi
- Aleppo pepper
8 – Torrid: 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units
To give you an idea, harissa falls into this category, as well as:
- Bird’s eye chili: with 30,000 to 60,000 Scoville units, the bird’s eye chili is a small red or green chili widely used in cooking on Mauritius and Reunion Island;
- Cayenne pepper;
- Pequin pepper.
9 – Volcanic: from 50,000 to 100,000 Scoville units
- Thai Hot Pepper;
- Wiri wiri ;
- Malagueta pepper;
- Chiltepin pepper;
- Tabasco pepper;
- Amazonian pepper.
10 – Explosive: 100,000 and more
- Pepper X: The Pepper X pepper, with 3,180,000 Scoville units, has been the hottest pepper in the world since 2017. It dethrones the Dragon’s Breath pepper, designated as such a few months earlier;
- Dragon’s Breath ;
- Carolina Reaper: Until now, it was the Carolina Reaper pepper that was elected by the Guinness Book in 2013. It is rated up to 2,200,000 on the Scoville scale;
- Red Savina;
- Habanero pepper (West Indian pepper or goat pepper): this pepper is very popular and considered one of the tastiest peppers, combining its extreme heat with a lemony taste;
- Scotch bonnet pepper;
- Rocoto pepper;
- Jamaican Hot Pepper;
- Bulgarian carrot;
- Fatalii Pepper;
- Datil pepper.
