What is the name of the scale used to measure the heat of chilli peppers?
AnswerScoville scale
Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville devised the test in 1912, and results are given in Scoville Heat Units (SHU).
Food · Facts & stats
Chilli facts & stats
7 fact-checked facts about chilli peppers, each with the reason behind it. 5 more are in today's round and join this page after it closes.
The basics
Chilli peppers originally come from which part of the world?
AnswerThe Americas
Chillies were domesticated there thousands of years ago and spread around the world after the late 1400s.
Going deeper
A chipotle is a jalapeño that has been what?
AnswerSmoke-dried
Chipotles are ripe jalapeños that are dried over smoke, giving them a deep, smoky flavor.
Which part of a chilli pepper holds the most of its heat compound?
AnswerThe pale inner ribs that hold the seeds
The heat compound is made in the whitish inner tissue; seeds taste hot mainly because they touch it.
Which drink is often suggested to calm chilli heat because its proteins help wash away the burning compound?
AnswerMilk
Casein protein in milk helps lift the oily heat compound off the tongue, while water mostly spreads it around.
Expert level
Chilli peppers belong to which plant genus?
AnswerCapsicum
They are in the nightshade family, while black pepper comes from the unrelated genus Piper.
Pure capsaicin rates about how many Scoville Heat Units?
Answer16 million
Pure capsaicin is far hotter than any whole pepper, because peppers contain only small amounts of it.
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