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annuum Chiltepin SHU according to wikipedia

SatanicFlatIron

SatanicFlatIron

Why does wikipedia say that C. annuum var. glabriusculum can reach 2.5 million SHU? Isn't chiltepin already the hottest C. annuum, with just its 100k SHU?
The only Capsicum species that can go beyond 100k should be C. chinense. There's something wrong with giving chiltepin a scoville rating comparable to guinness superhots 🤔

This is the linked paper: Measurement of Capsaicinoids in Chiltepin Hot Pepper: A Comparison Study between Spectrophotometric Method and High Performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis
 
I took a quick look at that paper too and it's showing some huge numbers pretty much across the board. It doesn't seem right. It is interesting they reflect that the green ripe fruits had the highest heat levels, with significant degradation as they progress to red ripe. I'm used to thinking of that more the other way around.
 
HellfireFarm said:
My experience reflects that - green < ripe.
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While I generally agree about that, a couple of years ago I looked for the reason why some green annuum can be as hot as the red counterparts, and I found an interesting paper explaining that, once reached the full pod shape (still green) the capsaicin reaches its peak; then it progressively degrades.
I have little experience with the other species, because differently from annuum they are usually not good when unripe 🙂
 
Interesting, I'll have to try to find that paper.

I remember my first experience with a Ghost was a green one, and I recall thinking "There must be something wrong, this isn't that hot".
Then I had a ripe one...
 
The 2.5 Mio Scoville value is not from an accepted or reliable method. Their simple spectrophotometric method doesn't separate any substances, so the absorption could be due to any substance in their sample mix. They use these values only to show a broad correlation between the validated real standard method (HPLC) and their shortcut method. This value must be removed from Wikipedia. Also, the measured 1.6 Mio SHU by HPLC are hard to believe.
 
Also, they don't show their HPLC chromatograms and they don't use any other method to confirm their unexpected and extreme numbers. My guess would be that other compounds overlap with their capsaicin peaks, that they made integration mistakes, or simply made calculation errors.
 
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Thanks Annuchin

HellfireFarm said:
Interesting, I'll have to try to find that paper
Click to expand...
found
Timing is everything, and harvesting hot peppers is no different. While it's true that you can pick the berries right off the plant as soon as they appear, it's best to wait for some very clear signals that they are ready. Do not fall prey to the common belief that "fully matured chilies provide the most heat and flavour". In reality, a chili reaches its utmost spiciness when it stops growing in size—following this, the capsaicin level will first undergo a sharp decrease, and then a more gradual decrease.

Testing three types of chili varieties widely used in Mexico, it was shown that capsaicin levels in habanero and de arbol reached their peak at days 45–50 from fruit set, and after 40 days in piquin varieties. After that point, capsaicin levels declined (Contreras-Padilla & Yahia, 1998).

Contrary to this, a test on serrano chilies found no change in capsaicin levels during ripening from the green to yellow and red stage (Rocha-Herrera, 1997).
Click to expand...
Source: Zamnesia blog
Papers: Contreras-Padilla & Yahia, Rocha-Herrera

I have also experienced non-spicy overripe annuum (left on the plant) on occasion, perhaps capsaicin degrades more at that stage, as during pepper fermentation
 
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