Chilli peppers

The Scoville scale

The heat of a pepper is measured using the Scoville scale, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The Scoville scale indicates how hot a pepper is (the number of Scoville Units – SHU). To determine this, the concentration of capsaicin and related substances is measured. Capsaicin is the substance that makes peppers hot, this is mainly in the placental tissue and therefore automatically in the seeds. When capsaicin enters the mouth, it stimulates the nerves on the tongue. Normally, these nerves only respond to heat, so they think there is something warm in the mouth even now. This signal goes to the brain and makes us think there is something very warm in our mouth. In fact, it fools our body.