Can you FEEL THAT?

February 23, 2003

I found this interesting and thought others here might as well. Any

Chileheads in here? Come out come out wherever you are!

Shawn

Just How HOT Are My Chiles?

In 1912 a chemists by the

name of Wilbur Scoville, working

for the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical

company, developed a method to

measure the heat level of chile

peppers.

The test is named after him, the

" Scoville Organoleptic Test " .

It is a subjective dilution-taste

procedure. In the original test,

Wilbur blended pure ground Chiles

with sugar-water and a panel of

" testers " then sipped the solution,

in increasingly diluted concentrations,

until they reached the point that the

liquid no longer burned their mouths.

A number was then assigned to each

chile pepper based on how much it

needed to be diluted before they could

no longer taste (feel) the heat.

The pungency (or heat factor) of chile

peppers is measured in multiples of 100

units. The sweet bell peppers at zero

Scoville units to the mighty Habanero

at 300,000 plus Scoville units!

One part of chile " heat " per 1,000,000

drops of water is rated at only 1.5

Scoville Units. The substance that makes

a chile so hot is called Capsaicin.

Pure Capsaicin rates between 15,000,000

and 16,000,000 Scoville Units! Today a

more scientific and accurate method called

liquid chromatography is used to determine

capsaicin levels.

In honor of Dr. Wilbur the unit of measure

is still named Scoville.

Below is a list of Chile peppers and their

Scoville Heat Units. Due to variations in

growing conditions, soil and weather, peppers

tend to vary between the lower and upper

levels listed, but can go beyond them.

Chile Pepper Heat Range in Scoville Units

Sweet Bell 0

Pimento 0

Cherry 00 ~ 500

Pepperoncini 100 ~ 500

El-Paso 500 ~ 700

Santa Fe Grande 500 ~ 750

Coronado 700 ~ 1,000

Espanola 1,000 ~ 2,000

Poblano 1,000 ~ 2,000

Ancho 1,000 ~ 2,000

Mulato 1,000 ~ 2,000

Pasilla 1,000 ~ 2,000

Anaheim 500 ~ 2,500

Sandia 500 ~ 2,500

NuMex Big Jim 500 ~ 2,500

Rocotillo 1,500 ~ 2,500

Pulla 700 ~ 3,000

Mirasol 2,500 ~ 5,000

Guajillo 2,500 ~ 5,000

Jalapeno 2,500 ~ 8,000

Chipotle 5,000 ~ 8,000

Hot Wax 5,000 ~ 10,000

Puya 5,000 ~ 10,000

Hidalgo 6,000 ~ 17,000

Serrano 8,000 ~ 22,000

Manzano 12,000 ~ 30,000

Shipkas 12,000 ~ 30,000

De Arbol 15,000 ~ 30,000

Jaloro 30,000 ~ 50,000

Aji 30,000 ~ 50,000

Tabasco 30,000 ~ 50,000

Cayenne 30,000 ~ 50,000

Santaka 40,000 ~ 50,000

Super Chile 40,000 ~ 50,000

Piquin 40,000 ~ 58,000

Yatsafusa

50,000 ~ 75,000

Haimen

70,000 ~ 80,000

Chiltecpin

60,000 ~ 85,000

Thai

50,000 ~ 100,000

Tabiche

85,000 ~ 115,000

Bahamian

95,000 ~ 110,000

Carolina Cayenne

100,000 ~ 125,000

Kumataka

125,000 ~ 150,000

Jamaican Hot

100,000 ~ 200,000

Birds Eye

100,000 ~ 225,000

Habanero

100,000 ~ 325,000

Scotch Bonnet

150,000 ~ 325,000

Red Savina Habanero

350,000 ~ 577,000

Pure Capsaicin

15-16,000,000

A Little Chile Chemistry For The Visiting Rocket Scientist

Chiles are members of the Capsicum family. Heat range is

diverse, ranging from very mild to extremely wild. The

particular class of substances that determine their

disposition is known, by those who study such things, as Capsaicinoids. The

two most common component of this class

are Capsaicin and Di-Hydrocapsaicin they look something like this.

Capsaicin

H3CO

\____ O CH3

/ \ | |

HO-< >-C-N-C-(CH2)4-C=C-C-CH3

\____/ | | | | |

H2 H H H H

Di-Hydrocapsaicin

H3CO

\____ O CH3

/ \ | |

HO-< >-C-N-C-(CH2)6-C-CH3

\____/ | |

H2 H

Capsaicin and Di-hydrocapsaicin together make up 80-90% of the

Capsaicinoids found in Chile peppers. In the Capsicum annum

species, the total Capsaicinoid content ranges from 0.1 to 1.0%,

and the Capsaicin to Dihydrocapsaicin ratio is about 1:1.

In Capsicum frutescens the total content ranges from 0.4-1.0%

with the ratio around 2:1.

The minor Capsaicinoids include Nordihydrocapsaicin

[Dihydrocapsaicin with a (CH2)5 instead of (CH2)6], Homocapsaicin

[Capsaicin with a (CH2)5 instead of (CH2)4, and hydrocapsaicin

[Dihydrocapsaicin with a (CH2)7 instead of (CH2)6].

The different capsaicin-like compounds found in Chiles have

slight structural variations in the hydrocarbon tail, changing

their ability to bind to the nerve receptors and their ability

to penetrate layers of receptors on the tongue, mouth, and

throat. This may explain why some Chiles burn in the mouth,

while others burn deep in the throat.

Capsaicinoids are not soluble in water, but very soluble in

fats, oils and alcohol. This is why drinking water after

accepting a dare to eat an extra hot Habanero Chile won't

stop the burning. Downing a cold beer is the traditional

remedy, but the small percentage of alcohol will not wash

away much capsaicin. To get some relief from a chile burn

(can't think of a good reason not to " Enjoy the heat " ), drink

milk or eat ice-cream. Milk contains casein, a lipophilic (fat-loving)

substance that surrounds and washes away the fatty capsaicin molecules in

much the same way that soap washes away grease.

The perception that peppers are " hot " is not an accident. The

capsaicin key opens a door in the cell membrane that allows

calcium ions to flood into the cell. That ultimately triggers

a pain signal that is transmitted to the next cell. When the

cells are exposed to heat, the same events occur. Chile burns

and heat burns are similar at the molecular, cellular, and

sensory levels.

Paradoxically, capsaicin's ability to cause pain makes it useful

in alleviating pain. Exposure to capsaicin lowers sensitivity to pain, and

it is applied as a counter irritant in the treatment of arthritis and other

chronically painful conditions.

The capsaicinoids are unique compared to other spicy substances,

such as piperine (black pepper) and gingerol (ginger) in that

capsaicin causes a long-lasting selective desensitization to the

pain and discomfort, as a result of repeated doses. The result is

an increasing ability to tolerate ever hotter foods and permits

one to assume the title of " Chile-Head " or " CH " for short.

People who eat lots of spicy capsaicin-rich foods build up a

tolerance to it. The incentive: Once a person has become somewhat

desensitized to the extreme heat of the " hotter " Chiles, he or she

can starts on a new culinary journey. Not being over powered by the

heat factor, the palate now has the ability to explore the many

diverse flavors offered by the myriad of different Chiles that are

currently available from around the world. Also for some

Chile-Heads a good jolt of capsaicin excites the nervous system into

producing endorphins, which promote a pleasant sense of well-being

that can last several hours. The endorphin lift or " high " , makes spicy foods

mildly addictive and for some, an obsession.

I offer the below information and pictures for folks that are really

into the science of Chiles.

Mon, 26 Feb 2001

Uncle Steve,

Here are the images as promised. I included structures of some of

the minor capsaicinoids as well.

There are two versions (a and b) of each structure, corresponding to

different conventions of drawing. They're equally correct and

unequivocal, and you're free to choose whichever version you

prefer. The 'a' convention is most commonly used by chemists, but

the 'b' convention might be a bit easier to understand for

non-chemists.

Best regards,

John Henninge

Capsaicin-a

Capsaicin-b

Dihydrocapsaicin-a

Dihydrocapsaicin-b

Homocapsaicin-a

Homocapsaicin-b

Homodihydrocapsaicin-a

Homodihydrocapsaicin-b

Nordihydrocapsaicin-a

Nordihydrocapsaicin-b

Last but not least (Just in case you want to know all about

Capsaicinoids)

Melting point: 65°C

Boiling point: 210°-220°C at 0.01 torr pressure

Suorce: The Merck Index. 12th Edition. Merck & Co., Inc. Whitehouse Station,

NJ. 1996.

Uncle Steve's HOT Stuff

Fredericksburg, VA

http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm

" I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I hoped it could be. "

Peter Gibbons - Office Space

" It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care. "

Peter Gibbons - Office Space

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February 23, 2003

hi shawn,

thank you for posting the info on chiles. the cool

thing is that uncle steve's farm in only about 10

minutes from my house! i had no idea there was

anything like that around here. i'm definitly gonna

go visit his farm in late summer when he's selling

fresh peppers!

i just might have a chile addiction/obsession. i was

planning my garden today and have planned on 20 thai

dragon chile plants! i only had 10 last year and it

wasn't enough! of coarse i'll also grow jalapenos and

serranos. : )

susie

--- _- MatrixenO -_ <matrixeno wrote:

> I found this interesting and thought others here

> might as well. Any

> Chileheads in here? Come out come out wherever you

> are!

>

> Shawn

Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more

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February 24, 2003

" i just might have a chile addiction/obsession. i was

planning my garden today and have planned on 20 thai

dragon chile plants! i only had 10 last year and it

wasn't enough! of coarse i'll also grow jalapenos and

serranos. : ) "

Wow Susie, that sounds great. Haha, I definitely understand the " chile

addiction/obsession " . We have some gardeners in this group. I am going to

attempt to garden for the first time this year. I just gotta do a lil

homework first on the subject. Keep us informed on your results.

Cheers,

Shawn

" I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I hoped it could be. "

Peter Gibbons - Office Space