The concept of “pepper” is connected in our imagination with the words “hot” or “sweet”. But is there only two flavors of this plant and is it all sharp the same? It turns out, no. There is even a special scale of peppers.
Why bitter pepper
The bitter taste of pepper, like many other products, is associated with the presence of capsaicin in it. And the more it is in the composition of this species, the sharper the product.
Capsaicin learned to use even without capsicum pepper itself. This substance is used in pharmacology and for the manufacture of cartridges used for self-defense.
Scoville Pepper Scale
Many used pepper, but the idea to create a severity scale came to the American Wilbur Scoville in 1912. As a result, he not only received the scale of his name, but also created a new unit of measurement. The chemist took the sharpness of sweet bell pepper as a starting point. It turns out that there is practically no capsaicin in its composition. But what to take as a unit of measurement? Scoville proposed the use of capsaicin in pepper. He called it the Scoville scale unit (ECU).
Methods for measuring hotness
Products with a burning taste affect the branches of the trigeminal nerve. They help to taste the products. Stiffness must be measured in order to rationally use different spices in the food industry.
Scoville diluted alcohol infusion of a certain type of pepper with sugar and water. He added an aqueous solution until the hotness ceased to be felt. This amount of water was recorded in his table.
Scoville’s method is not the only one for measuring hotness, and it’s not entirely accurate. It does not take into account the amount of substances called capsaicinoids. They are summarized with capsacins measured by liquid chromatography in units called ppm.
The Scovilla method is based on comparing the amount of capsaicin in different varieties. One point on this scale indicates the specific content of capsaicin, which contains chili peppers. The severity of the scale is determined by comparison with other varieties.
Researching
How to determine the hotness of pepper, and even place it on a scale? After all, working with this vegetable can be dangerous for well-being. Scientists who conducted the studies noted that rubberized protective suits, gas masks could not completely protect the body from the effects of particularly aggressive varieties. And his hands felt a burning sensation, although they wore two pairs of latex gloves.
Simplified Peppers
Using the Scoville scale is quite difficult, because you need to keep large numbers in your head. Therefore, there is a simplified scale for measuring the severity of pepper, based on the Scoville table.
A simplified scale offers all varieties and types of pepper divided into 11 groups:
- Zero (neutral) combines those whose severity is from 0 to 100 ECU.
- The first (soft) - from 100 to 500 ECU.
- The second (warm grades) - from 500 to 1000 ECU.
- The third (above average) - from 1000 to 1500 ECU.
- Fourth (hot grades) - from 1500 to 2000 ECU.
- Fifth (strong) - from 2500 to 5000 ECU.
- Sixth (burning) - from 5000 to 15 000 ECU.
- Seventh (burning grades) - from 15 to 30 thousand ECU.
- Eighth (hot) - from 30 to 50 thousand ECU.
- Ninth (volcanic) - from 50 to 100 thousand ECU.
- Tenth - from 100 thousand ECU. This is Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Red, Naga Jolokia. These are explosive types of pepper.
The severity scale to 4 is represented by rather mild species.
Representative of group 0 - bell peppers. The amount of ascorbic acid in it is 3 times more than in lemon.
Pimento (allspice) pepper from group 1 is appreciated for its aroma and pleasant taste. Used to make salads. It is stewed with vegetables, rice, stuffed.
Type Anaheim (group 2) fleshy and large. The disadvantage is considered too hard peel, which is usually removed during cooking. Used to create dishes from meat, eggs, rice, legumes.
Poblenna pepper (pungency 3) of green color in taste is similar to prunes, but only bitter. The taste is directly related to the color of the pod. The darker it is, the sharper it is. Various Mexican dishes are prepared from it, stuffed, fried in an egg.
Next come the sharper species.
Hungarian wax pepper (hotness 6) is long and narrow in appearance. It is consumed in salads, pickled, stewed.
Serrano pepper (pungency 7) is used to make alcoholic beverages. Prepare sauces, add to salads.
Rokkoto pepper shape resembles an egg. The color is red, the seeds are black. Differs in apple aroma. Salsa and various sauces are prepared from it. Severity scale 8.
Tepin (mosquito) is considered the progenitor of all types of peppers. Acuity 8. This is a wild sight. The birds peck its fruits, although it is very sharp.
Very hot peppers
Tabasco is used to make the sauce of the same name. The bush is very beautiful, decorated with lots of yellow and red peppers. Acuity 9.
Hot Thai peppers for cooking are fried in oil, then added to taste in soups and main dishes. Acuity 9.
Habanero tastes like apple and cherry at the same time. The pepper scale for this species belongs to group 10.
Hot pepper
Periodically, the title of the hot pepper receive different types.
Scoville considered the most burning habanero.
Since February 2012, Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend has become the sharpest pepper. The acuteness of chili pepper on the Scovilla scale can range from 1.2 to 2 million units. It is so sharp that after its use, pressure begins to rise sharply, eyes watery, and the throat and tongue bake with fire. The worst part is that such a reaction does not occur in the first seconds after consumption, but when a large amount of pepper enters the throat, the esophagus.
What makes gourmets use it for food? Strong bitterness and pungency are combined in this variety of pepper with a fruity aroma, giving the products a unique taste.
It grows in the south of the Caribbean, in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. There, in the region of Moruga, there is not one species that claims to be the most acute. Prior to this, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper was considered the sharpest with a sharpness of about 1.4 million units.
It is possible to determine the severity of a variety only approximately, because the severity of pepper depends on many factors. This is the air temperature during ripening, the amount of precipitation in the area of growth. The higher the temperature and lower the humidity, the sharper the pepper.
Ground Pepper Production Secrets
From the same species, you can create products of different severity. If only a vegetable shell is used for the manufacture, the products are of the highest grade in bright red. If the whole pod with seeds goes into processing, it turns out ground pepper of the first grade. Due to the presence of seeds, it is sharper and slightly lighter than the previous one.
There are species in which seeds in different chambers have different stickiness. This is gogoshar pepper. Two of the four chambers are bitter, and two are taste-neutral grain. Therefore, the severity of peppers on the Scoville scale will depend on whether the whole fruit is eaten.
Dusting
Many people know the sad fact that peppers of different types are easily pollinated. This is especially true for sweet bell pepper. The closer they grow to each other, the greater the possibility of pollination.
The pepper scale shows the result for fruits pollinated in the same variety. As a result, the sharpness of the hot pepper does not decrease, while the sweet becomes ordinary in appearance, and the taste becomes bitter.
The use of hot peppers in medicine
In addition to bitterness, which affects the taste of cooked dishes, pepper contains a large amount of vitamins C and PP. Together with carotenoids, they improve the functioning of the prostate gland.
The bitter taste affects the fact that pepper relieves pain, including with radiculitis, arthritis, arthrosis.