Chile Pepper Frequently Asked Questions

The Scoville Scale was named after Wilbur L. Scoville (1865-1942), who developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912 while working at the Parke Davis pharmaceutical company. As originally devised, a solution of the pepper extract is diluted in sugar water until the 'heat' is no longer detectable to a panel of (usually five) tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville scale.

• http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm
• http://www.pepperscale.com/

A chemical called Capsaicin is what gives Chiles their heat. Capsaicin, one of the most powerful chemicals know to man has no flavour, colour or odour and is unaffected by cooking, grinding or freezing. Although it is readily soluble in fats (like skin), pure alcohol and some oils it is not soluble in water which is why gulping down pints of water to fan the flames will simply swill the substance around your mouth and make it even worse! Downing pure alcohol would kill you and therefore is also a bad idea.

Chile peppers are vegetables. They are relatives of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all belonging to the nightshade family.Chile peppers contain more vitamin A than carrots (especially red chiles). In fact, one teaspoon of hot sauce may provide 100% RDA for Vitamin A.