How Do You Measure Jalapeno Heat?

Capsaicin is the heat producing substance found in peppers. 

In 1912, a pharmacologist named Wilbur Scoville invented a standard for measuring the capsaicin in peppers, and consequently, the power of that pepper heat.

He called the test, “Scoville Organoleptic Test.” Yes, there’s actually a name for measuring peppers heat level. How did it work?

Scoville ground chile peppers into a mixture of sugar water and alcohol. He then had five tasters sip the mixture and grade it for hotness. Since then, we have more sophisticated methods for grading the hotness of peppers into units called “Scoville Units”.

Today, peppers range from 0 Scoville Units for the regular bell pepper to upwards of 200,000 to 300,000 Scoville Units for the extremely hot habanero. Now that's hot! And what a range! Jalapeños are about 5,000 Scoville Units, which is the perfect amount of heat and taste.