There is a wealth of amazing sauce recipes to choose from around the world. If you happen to love food with a nice bite to it however, what you'll need is to add the right amount of chilli to give the flavour some added kick.
The following guide discusses how chilli strength is measured - known as The Scoville Scale, it gives you a clear indication of how much or how little a particular type of chilli is needed when cooking so you can be sure to add the right amount to suit your individual taste.
Introducing The Scoville Scale
This is the name given to the rating measurement of the spicy heat strength of varying chilli peppers. It was created by American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville.
The Scoville Organoleptic Test lists the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) found in each type of chilli, based on the amount of capsaicin they contain. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes,beats by dre solo.
Using the Scoville method, an alcohol extract of the capsaicin oil from a measured amount of dried pepper is added incrementally to a solution of sugar in water until the "heat" is detectable by a panel of tasters (usually five to give a solid consensus). The degree of dilution then produces a figure that can be rated within the Scoville scale.
Thus, a sweet pepper or a bell pepper which contain no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero. The hottest chillies in the world, such as habaneros and nagas, have a rating of 200,000 or more, meaning that their extract must be diluted over 200,000 times before the capsaicin presence is undetectable.
The weak link in the Scoville Organoleptic Test however is that it relies on human subjectivity - tasters are only able to taste one sample per session and this gives imprecise results.
It must be remembered that numerical ratings on the Scoville scale for any chilli specimen vary depending on its cultivation conditions, variations within the species, seed lineage, climate, soil and the uncertainty of the laboratory methods used to assess the capsaicinoid content.
It also interesting to note that the Scoville scale can also be used to measure the pungency of substances that are even hotter than pure capsaicin. One such substance is resiniferatoxin, an alkaloid present in the sap of some species of euphorbia plants. This heat devil has a Scoville scale rating of 16 billion, so youl definitely not want to add that to a delicious sauce!
The Modern Measurement Method - High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
The modern method for quantitative analysis of heat strength is to use high-performance liquid chromatography. This makes it possible to directly identify and measures the concentration of heat-producing chemicals or capsaicinoid content. The results are not defined in Scoville units, but in American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) pungency units.
This method yields results, not in Scoville units, but in American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) pungency units. A measurement of one part capsaicin per million corresponds to about 15 Scoville units, thus each ASTA pungency units can be multiplied by 15 to translate into a Scoville unit.
There has been controversy over this method however, as some spice experts say that this conversion is only approximate, and that the results from high-performance liquid chromatography are around 20?0% lower than the actual Scoville method would have rated them as.
The Hottest Chilli In The World
The chillies with the highest rating on the Scoville scale measure at over one million Scoville units. Examples include specimens of Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia. The Naga Viper, produced in the UK by crossing the three hottest peppers known to man, currently holds the unofficial title of Hottest Pepper In The World. Researchers who tested the Naga Viper found that it measures a whopping 1,36 on the Scoville scale.
The current official world record for the hottest chilli according to the Guinness Book of Records, is a variant of the above known as the Naga Viper Chilli grown by accident in Cark. It has an eye-watering rating of 1.38 million on the Scoville Scale.
List of Scoville Chilli Ratings
There are various internet sites which list the numerical Scoville rating of every type of chilli pepper known to man. As a brief summary, the following are listed from most fiery to least pungent when it comes to adding them to sauces:
Infinity Chilli and Naga Viper Pepper
Red Savina Habanero
Habanero Chilli, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Piri Piri, Rocoto, Jamaican Hot Pepper.
Bird Eye Chilli, Pequin Pepper.
Cayenne Pepper, Tabasco Pepper, Cumari Pepper.
Aleppo Pepper, Serrano Pepper.
Jalapeno Pepper, Paprika, Tabasco Sauce.
Peppadew, Anaheim Pepper.
Pimento, Banana Pepper.
Conclusion
With the above information, you can now feel confident about the correct chilli type and amount to give your Sauce Recipes just the right zing.
About the Author: Francesca Rilotelli is a chef and expert on Sauce Recipes.
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