Editing Scoville scale (section)

{{Short description|Scale for measuring spiciness of peppers}}
{{Redirect|Scoville|the creator of the measurement |Wilbur Scoville|other uses}}
[[File:PepperswithscovilleCentralMarketHoustonTX.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|Pepper stand at [[Central Market (Texas)|Central Market]] in [[Houston]], [[Texas]], showing its peppers ranked on the Scoville scale]]
[[File:BhutJolokia09 Asit.jpg|thumb|The [[ghost pepper]] of [[Northeast India]] is considered to be a "very hot" pepper, at about 1 million SHU.<ref name="five38">{{cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rating-chili-peppers-on-a-scale-of-1-to-oh-dear-god-im-on-fire/|title=Rating Chili Peppers On A Scale Of 1 To Oh Dear God I'm On Fire|last=Barry-Jester|first=Anna Maria|date=October 15, 2014|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|access-date=2014-11-02}}</ref>]]
[[File:Naga_jolokia_chili.jpg|thumb|The [[Naga Morich]], with around 1 million SHU,<ref name="SomeLikeItHot">{{cite web |url=http://www.thetraveleditor.com/article/3646/Feature_Article_Foodie_Some_Like_It_Hot_Dorset_s_Ultra_Hot_Chillies.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119151035/http://www.thetraveleditor.com/article/3646/Feature_Article_Foodie_Some_Like_It_Hot_Dorset_s_Ultra_Hot_Chillies.html |title=Some Like It Hot: Dorset's Ultra-Hot Chillies |access-date=25 August 2010 |archive-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> is primarily grown in India and Bangladesh.]]

The '''Scoville scale''' is a [[measurement]] of [[spiciness]] of [[chili pepper]]s and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of [[Capsaicin#Capsaicinoids|capsaicinoids]], among which [[capsaicin]] is the predominant component.<ref name="twi">{{cite web|author1=Twilight Greenaway|title=How Hot is That Pepper? How Scientists Measure Spiciness|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-hot-is-that-pepper-how-scientists-measure-spiciness-884380/|publisher=Smithsonian.com, US Smithsonian Institution|access-date=17 December 2017|date=10 January 2013}}</ref>

The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist [[Wilbur Scoville]], whose 1912 method is known as the Scoville [[organoleptic]] test.<ref name=twi/><ref name=Scoville1912>{{cite journal|last1=Scoville|first1=Wilbur|title=Note on Capsicums|journal=Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association|date=May 1912|volume=1|issue=5|pages=453–454 |doi=10.1002/jps.3080010520|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1427675}}</ref> The Scoville organoleptic test is a subjective assessment derived from the capsaicinoid sensitivity by people experienced with eating hot chilis.<ref name="twi" />

An alternative method, [[high-performance liquid chromatography]] (HPLC), can be used to analytically quantify the capsaicinoid content as an indicator of pungency.<ref name="twi" /><ref name="collins" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Al Othman|first=Zeid Abdullah|year=2011|title=Determination of Capsaicin and Dihydrocapsaicin in Capsicum Fruit Samples using High Performance Liquid Chromatography|journal=Molecules|volume=16|issue=10|pages=8920|doi=10.3390/molecules16108919|pmid=22024959|pmc=6264681|doi-access=free}}</ref>