Size and density vs SHU

G

Ghaleon

Peach ghosts tend to be slimmer and there's much less pepper there than these MoA and TFM Scotch Bonnets I got from Trent.
 
I ate one yesterday and it lit me up a lot more than any peach ghost I've eaten.
 
I'm really beginning to think eating a large pepper with a lower SHU is going to give more pain than a small pepper with a significantly higher SHU.
 
Thoughts?
 
It's a quantity versus density thing. If you're dealing with the same SHU rating, the bigger (by weight) pod is going to be hotter than the lighter one.

So if the SB is only half the SHU of the peach bhut but about 3 times the size, you're ingesting more cap with the entire SB... (Simplified math to illustrate the concept; it's probably not accurate to say it's half the shu, or 3 times the size...)
 
Bicycle808 said:
It's a quantity versus density thing. If you're dealing with the same SHU rating, the bigger (by weight) pod is going to be hotter than the lighter one.

So if the SB is only half the SHU of the peach bhut but about 3 times the size, you're ingesting more cap with the entire SB... (Simplified math to illustrate the concept; it's probably not accurate to say it's half the shu, or 3 times the size...)
Click to expand...
I always thought the Scoville scale was dependent on an exact dry mass weight so heavier and juicer peppers dont negatively or positively effect it.
 
That's true but try to think a little more deeply....

If the shu is a per gram measurement, than the pod with the higher shu will be hotter if you compare one gram of each, right? Let's say, for argument's sake, that pod A measures at 100,000 shu and pod B measures at 50,000 shu...

If you eat 1 g of pod A and 1 g of pod B, pod A will theoretically be twice as hot.... Follow?

But if pod A weighs 1 g total and pod B weighs 3 g total, if you eat all of pod A and then all of pod B, pod B should theoretically be a hotter experience, despite the lower shu rating, due to the greater mass.

Now, b/c this is the internet and because I detect some troll activity, I'll mention that, yes, they measure SHU on dessicated pods so, theoretically, if the greater mass is due entirely to excess juiciness (ie, water weight), then the comparison won't be the same. So, for the sake of this argument, let's assume that both pod A and pod B are equally juicy, ok?
 
Bicycle808 said:
That's true but try to think a little more deeply....

If the shu is a per gram measurement, than the pod with the higher shu will be hotter if you compare one gram of each, right? Let's say, for argument's sake, that pod A measures at 100,000 shu and pod B measures at 50,000 shu...

If you eat 1 g of pod A and 1 g of pod B, pod A will theoretically be twice as hot.... Follow?

But if pod A weighs 1 g total and pod B weighs 3 g total, if you eat all of pod A and then all of pod B, pod B should theoretically be a hotter experience, despite the lower shu rating, due to the greater mass.

Now, b/c this is the internet and because I detect some troll activity, I'll mention that, yes, they measure SHU on dessicated pods so, theoretically, if the greater mass is due entirely to excess juiciness (ie, water weight), then the comparison won't be the same. So, for the sake of this argument, let's assume that both pod A and pod B are equally juicy, ok?
Click to expand...
That does make sense. The units should be more scientifically defined like ASTA pungency units.
 
SpeakPolish said:
I always thought the Scoville scale was dependent on an exact dry mass weight so heavier and juicer peppers dont negatively or positively effect it.
Click to expand...
 

It's not dry mass of capsaicin. It's dry mass of capsaicin per dry mass of pepper.
 
Pepper water content won't affect the SHU but the rest of the weight of the pepper still will.
 
spicefreak said:
 
It's not dry mass of capsaicin. It's dry mass of capsaicin per dry mass of pepper.
 
Pepper water content won't affect the SHU but the rest of the weight of the pepper still will.
Click to expand...
Thats what I meant. Sorry if I didnt convey it properly
 
Maybe this is why people say the chocolate bhutlah is hotter than the carolina reaper..
 
Ever CB I've seen has been way bigger than any CR I've seen.
 
LOL the Chocolate Carolina Reaper is CCR! Doo, doo, doo! Burnin' out my backdoor!
 
SpeakPolish said:
That does make sense. The units should be more scientifically defined like ASTA pungency units.
Click to expand...
Capsaicin's compounds are tested using hplc..High performance liquid chromatography... To determine the ppm of all the capsaicinoids in whatever the sample is.

That ppm is then correlated back to the scoville scale.
 
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