Scale of Scoville

The scale of Scoville is a scale of measurement of the force of the Piment S invented in 1912 by the Pharmacologue Wilbur Scoville within the framework of its work in the company Parke Davis, with Detroit. Its goal is to inform about the content of Capsaïcine, Molécule responsible for the force of pepper.

Definition

To establish its classification, Wilbur Scoville prepared a fresh pepper solution whole mashed potatoes tiny room mixed with Eau sweetened. This solution was generally tested by five people and as long as the feeling of burn of pepper remained, it increased dilution by it. When the feeling of Brûlure disappeared, the value of dilution was used as measurement with the force of pepper.

For example, a sweet pepper, not containing a capsaïcine, had a degree of zero, which means any feeling of detectable burn even without dilution. On the other hand, for the strongest peppers, a rate of: 300000, meant that their extract was to be diluted: 300000 times before the capsaïcine does not become undetectable.

It will be noted that the product contained in the bombs aerosols of self-defense to the Gas pepper has a value ranging between: 2000000 and: 5300000 (material of police force) and that the pure capsaïcine gives a measurement of: 16000000. In other words, 1 Ppm of capsaïcine is equivalent to 16 Scoville units.

Simplified scale

To facilitate its interpretation in a culinary context, the scale of Scoville is also presented in the shape of a table from 0 to 10.

It should be noted that to start from 7 it loses of its direction since any person normally made up howls with dead by tasting such peppers. A pepper of a force of more than 8 can create at certain people an amount of Endorphine (additive) high.

Measure by chromatography in liquid phase

One of the weak points of the test of Scoville was its inaccuracy, related to human subjectivity, in particular by the fact that the spending pattern of pepper changes the personal level of sensitivity: a pepper can be regarded as very extremely by a person little accustomed to the pepper (European food) and seem like soft with a person frequently consuming pepper, and since childhood. This inaccuracy is also reinforced by the fact that the force of peppers of the same variety can strongly vary because of the sunning, even soil. This is why one uses today the Chromatography in liquid phase to measure the rate of capsaïcine of a variety of pepper.

See too

Nociception

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