It’s About Thyme
by CHRIS WINSLOW
One garden plant that can match our summer’s heat intensity is the chili. Funny that they’re called ‘chilies’ when we all know there is nothing remotely ‘chilly’ about them at all!
Heat intensity of our peppers is measured in Scoville units. This is in honor of the great American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville (1865-1942), who used human guinea pigs to compile his scale.
In our modern era, these Scoville units are measured more scientifically, with a process called high performance liquid chromatography. It measures the amount of pure capsaicin oil.
At the very bottom of this scale, you find the sweet bell peppers, with a zero Scoville rating.
Next we come to the jalapenos – the most popular chili in Texas. On the cooler side is the TAM mild jalapeno, with very little heat. From there they range up to 9,000 Scovilles, the hottest being ‘mucho nacho,’ which is also longer, fatter and wider… and great for stuffing.
Also popular in the Austin area are the New Mexico hatch chilies that we see in late summer and fall. These Anaheims range from mild to their hottest form, the Sandia, with a Scoville rating of 6,000.
Further up the scale we find Thai, Serrano, and the chili pequin at 25,000 to 30,000 Scovilles.
At this point, there seems to be a big gap until we get to the different varieties of habaneros. These extremely hot peppers range from 200,000 to 400,000 Scovilles with the chocolate and red Caribbean varieties being the hottest.
And we’re not at the top of the scale yet.
The Guinness Book of World Records identifies an Indian pepper as the hottest on the planet. Known as Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia, or the ghost pepper, this dastardly little pepper boasts a Scoville scale topping 1,000,000! Naga translates as cobra or viper, and for sure, this pepper has the baddest bite of all.
Whether you eat them or not, these peppers are fun to grow and make great conversation. They’re colorful and add great beauty to any garden.
Happy gardening everyone!
If you have a question for Chris, send it via email to [email protected]. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748. www.itsaboutthyme.com
