Recently I’ve been making a fair bit of hot sauces and experimenting with different chillies. I’ve found that I’m able to handle (with some discomfort) a fresh habanero, but a fresh bird’s eye will floor me. Speaking with other’s who like spice, they have said thing like “I can eat Asian chillies, but can’t handle South American chillies”
Is there an actual difference in the chillies that causes a chilli lower on the Scoville scale to feel spicier? Or is is just anecdotal?
In: Biology
The Scoville Scale only measures one type of chemical, but there are other chemicals that can taste hot. Ginger and cinnamon can both be hot in strong concentrations for example, and ginger has no capsaicin and cinnamon has only a tiny amount. I’m guessing the peppers that are classified as weaker on the Scoville Scale but taste very spicy have other chemicals in them that don’t count toward that score.
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