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scovilles Scoville Testing?

Yup. Oddly enough, though, the secondary testing by Frontal Agritech did produce a similar SHU rating of about 1,041,000. Which leads me to believe Bosland & Dewitt simply didn't believe the previous reports published by the Indians until they themselves did the testing (to corroborate the scientific findings, of course ;))
 
Yes, thats likely why the "how to cheat a hplc test" article dissapeared. It was basically calling the Assam scientists liars:(
 
It is a bit on the naughty side not to believe in the validity of the results of an experiment by a group of scientists just because they are from 'another' country (if that was indeed the case). :shame:

Though I reckon the more tests done in different parts of the world, the more complete a picture we can get about the pungency of chillies.

The more the merrier! :)


I for one really like finding the concentrations of the various capsaicinoids, which explains why a fatalii feels so hot while not being hotter than some of the superhots (higher concentrations of dihydrocapsaicin).
 
When Scoville testing becomes more popular (when there is money to be made from it) I'm sure somebody will come up with a small, portable testing unit that a person can easily use to test a pod within the privacy of his own home.


Alan
 
Mister_Al said:
When Scoville testing becomes more popular (when there is money to be made from it) I'm sure somebody will come up with a small, portable testing unit that a person can easily use to test a pod with in the privacy of his own home.

Alan

It's called a 'tongue' :P (or alternatively, 'children')

I've e-mailed Warwick's HRI to try to find out exactly how horribly expensive an HPLC test for chillies can be (and maybe resurrect the idea of submitting samples from the Trinidad Scorpion appreciation thread for testing if it's not going to cost us our first borns)
 
Necrocannibal said:
Not that its really that big of a deal but it would be nice to be able to put a number with a pepper instead of "Outragously Hot"
It would be nice but not really properly do-able. Too many variables and inconsistancies
If there was a number beside every pepper then all growers would expect those same results which is highly unlikely. Instead of a specific number the SHU may be better shown as a range eg 500000-700000SHU instead of just the max value of 700000, or just outragously hot:)
 
POTAWIE said:
It would be nice but not really properly do-able. Too many variables and inconsistancies
If there was a number beside every pepper then all growers would expect those same results which is highly unlikely. Instead of a specific number the SHU may be better shown as a range eg 500000-700000SHU instead of just the max value of 700000, or just outragously hot:)
They do have a range based on previous tests as show below.

scoville_scale.gif
 
Absolutely! I honestly don't know what the fascination is with Scoville units is. For one, the infinite variables inherent in the testing makes the actual results questionable at best, as virtually no one will get a pepper exactly like the one tested (soil quality, altitude, climate, fertilizers, etc. etc. etc.).

The beer example is perfect. If something tastes good, it tastes good, if something else tastes better, well, it tastes better. Same goes for peppers, if it's hot, it's hot, if it's hotter, it's hotter, case closed. I personally don't put much trust in the whole Scoville unit testing process. Put it this way, we had the Zero tested a few years back, it came back as 35,000 SHU. Ummm, I'm pretty sure Zero is hotter than a straight Cayenne pepper, LOL!

Also, different peppers affect different people differently. Personally, I like the taste of Habaneros and Bird Peppers, however, a Fatalii pepper kicks my ass. In addition, we have tons of people tell us at trade shows that the Zero is the hottest thing they had at the show. According to the SHU's it's not possible, as there are other extracts at the show that are WAY higher on the scale. I recommend people don't just throw all their faith in the Scoville scale. Again, if something is hot, it's hot, if something else is hotter, it's hotter, there really isn't much more to it, and different people will judge the same things very differently, depending on their biological makeup.
 
Mr. Defcon Creator, I respectfully disagree. Everyone (mostly) like to know how certain things rank. Be it cars with horsepower, humans with athletic ability, fighter jets with speed, or peppers with capsaicin. It's fun to make comparisons and also to give you a little better perspective on what your dealing with. There's also that little aspect of bragging rights.;)

As far as inaccurate testing due to variable conditions, well I fully expect my Bih Jolokia to not be as hot in Canada as in it's native soil but at least I know it will still blow my head off. Hence a ranged scale would just give you advanced warning of what your biting into.
 
But again, the Scoville scale is inaccurate at best. Horsepower, athletic ability, can be accurately measured. There is no skill at making something hot, it's about backing up the heat with flavor. You want hot? Add more peppers, there's really not much more to it. And then you get into the extracts for the extreme stuff. Like I said, we had the Zero tested a while back, considering there is the equivalent of 10 pounds of orange habanero (1 pound dried) in a 1/4 ounce vial, the testing came back at 35,000 SHU. Laughable at best. I've talked to numerous other manufacturers as wll over the years, and many of them find the Scoville testing stuff, while quite expensive and time consuming, extremely inaccurate. I'm not stopping anyone by using the scale as a bible, but you have to realize the results are often quite misleading and unreliable.

It's funny how many people we've met at various shows, who come up to the booth and say stuff like, "Hey man, I don't eat ANYTHING under 200,000SHU!" Everyone in our booth does the proverbial eyeroll, and I give him some of the Defense Condition #1, which is warm, but by no means painful. More times than not, these mental midget's heads turn red and they start to tear. I'm guessing the #1 is around 80,000SHU. Or like the example I gave above where people try the Zero, after tasting all the extreme stuff at the show, and tell us it's the hottest stuff at the show. I KNOW it's not, as there are plenty of other extracts at the show that boast a much large SHU rank. These are real life examples that have happened hundreds of times over the years.

You yourself admit that your jolokia won't be as hot as ones grown elsewhere. Ok, and habaneros grown in Guatemala will probably be hotter than ones grown in Nebraska, or will they? If one pepper is hotter than another, it's hotter, but to force an SHU rank onto a type of pepper, knowing the many variables involved, it doesn't work. I mean really, can you tell the difference between 100,000SHU and 110,000SHU, most likely not. Hotness is purely subjective to the individual, as different peppers will affect different people differently, especially if they have built up a tolerance.

I just don't want to see people falling into the "Scoville Trap", where they will only buy products with stupidly high SHU rankings, and missing out on the flavor aspect of other sauces. There are an amazing amount of great products out there, from all sorts of different manufacturers, that taste great with the added pleasure of heat, but not the type of heat that forces you to shove a rocket pop up your butt to quell the burning in the morning.

I understand the bragging rights thing all too well, hence the reason the insane flock to our National Championship Deathmatch each year at Jungle Jim's Weekend of Fire. I've been asked by many of the competitiors what the SHU rank is, my answer is, "A whole lot of them". They all accept this answer as their internal gastrointestinal devices begin to liquify during the competition.

By the way, I like the Slayer, Reign in Blood avatar, defintely brings back memories. Blurry memories, but memories nonetheless.
 
What about HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) testing to determine pungency? it is MUCH more reliable than the Scoville test, which is undertaken by a panel of 'tasters'. You still have to account for environmental factors affecting the pungency of a particular pepper (watering, plant stress, geographical regions, soil composition, access to light, etc.), but the HPLC will give you (if properly calibrated) the concentration of capsaicin and capsaicinoids (Capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and homocapsaicin) in the peppers.
 
THBOMK
The Hot Badger Obtains Mascara in Kiosks?? :P

I thought some people did SHU's, and some did HPLC's and then converted to SHU's.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just use HPLC concentration percentages?

Will Mr. Scoville mind?
 
Hmmmmm...:think:

You present an interesting case, DEFCON. Is there a chance the test might have been done wrong? (say, the technician forgot to add a zero, meaning it was actually 350,000 rather than 35,000). Were you given the concentrations of capsaicin, or the SHU equivalent without the HPLC report?

I read the Zero review from hotsauceblog.com, and he pointed out to a longer lasting burn...which made me think, from what I've read, that you may have had a higher concentration of dihydrocapsaicin, which may have thrown off the original estimate. (Sorry if I'm sounding nerdy. After reading the Complete Chile Pepper Book, I start to sounds liek that...they mention the same reason why some people believe some peppers to be hotter than others.)

I can imagine as a producer of sauces, it is an expensive undertaking to get the HPLC test done, only to be given a reading that might be completely innacurate makes it seem like a waste of money. Which is why I was curious as to whether or not they gave you the full HPLC report or a watered down version.
 
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