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Capsaicin

PeriPeri

PeriPeri

Hey Guys,
 
This question goes out to all those sauce makers here using capsaicin in their sauces. This is not space to rant about the ethics of using capsaicin in sauces please!!
 
I need to make a chilli sauce that has a benchmark 1million SHU. The sauce will be made with fresh ingredients - onion, tomato past and fresh chillies. The capsaicin will be just to bump the heat. Flavour is not a concern here.
 
If I have 100g (3.3oz) of 9million SHU Capsaicin - how much can this be diluted to make 1million SHU sauce?
 
Is it a simple factor of 1part 9 million Capsaicin to 9 parts other ingredients.
 
or does the rule of dilution not apply here?
 
Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Please only those who have had experience in this need reply.
 
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That would be 1:8, not 1:9 but I also am unclear on whether it's that linear. If, however, the ingredients of Mad Dog Gold are anything to go by, you can certainly get away with using that little.
 
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Pure "capsaicin" is 16mil SHU, based on what you've said I'm assuming you have some 9mil extract. 
 
In that extract, 9 parts are capsaicinoids and 7 parts are "other ingredients (oil, whatever)"
 
100g of 9mil extract + 800 g YourSauce will end up with a 1mil sauce.  That's the 1:8 spicefreak posted.
 
But... if you are using fresh chillis that have any heat at all, that will add to the overall capsaicin content and the actual SHU would be slightly over 1mil.
 
 
Excerpt from another thread-
 
What is capsaicin?
"Capsaicin" is one of many capsaicinoid compounds found in chilies.  There are over 20 different capsaicinoid compounds in most chiles.  The different capsaicinoids react differently in the mouth and body causing the mouth burn and the body endorphin rush.  Different chiles have different amounts of these different compounds, which is why some chiles will hit hard and fast in the mouth, others will hit the gut, others will have the slow creeping burn.
 
All these different capsaicinoids have been erroneously lumped together under the general heading of 'capsaicin' because that one capsaicinoid is the most prominent one in most chiles.  Google is your friend for more information on capsaicinoids.
 
 
Good Luck and Have Fun!
 
SL
 
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https://sizes.com/units/scoville_unit.htm
 


This dilution test has been replaced by one using a high pressure liquid chromatograph,² the results of which are often expressed in ASTA units (named for the American Spice Trade Association), but can also be expressed in Scoville Heat units. The chromatograph can determine the concentration of capsaicin and capsaicin-like compounds in the pepper in parts per million. To convert from ppm capsaicin to SHU, multiply by 16, because pure capsaicin has a pungency of about 16 million Scoville units. (An older convention multiplied by 15.) Thus a ground-up pepper that is 1000 ppm capsaicin and capsaicin-like compounds will have a pungency rating of 16,000 SHU.
Click to expand...
 
If that helps.
 
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