Ever wonder how to rate the heat level (pungency) of various types of chile (chili) peppers (chillies)? Peppers are rated based on Scoville Heat Units (SHU, scovies), a method developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The original method used human tasters to evaluate how many parts of sugar water it takes to neutralize the heat. Nowadays human tasters are spared and a process called HPLC (High Performance/Pressure Liquid Chromotography) measures the amount of capsaicinoids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) in parts per million or more recently computer modelling of pepper Spectroscopy, a measure of how substances absorb light. Pure capsaicin rates at 16,000,000 on the Scoville Scale.
Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin are two of the alkaloid compounds that give chiles their heat. Concentrated primarily in the veins of the fruit and secondarily in the seeds, these compounds stimulate your nerve endings making your brain "think" that you are in pain. The brain responds by releasing substances called endorphins (like distance runners experience), which are similar in structure to morphine. A mild euphoria results making peppers mildly addictive because of this hot pepper "high". Ask any pepper-head (and you don't have to run 20 miles). Chile peppers have been cultivated for thousands of years for their medicinal properties, known for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, in addition to their culinary purposes.
In general, the smaller the mature/ripe pepper is, the hotter it will be, and dehydrated peppers tend to increase in "heat" by about 10 times.
Warning: Do not touch mucous membranes, contact lenses or privates after touching HOT peppers!!! It is also prudent to use thin rubber gloves when seeding and/or dicing the hotter varieties (from personal experience). Try sugar-water and honey to cut the heat, avoid plain water as it will only spread the heat, unless you like PAIN. An ice-cold beer or margarita also help to alliviate the heat as alcohol breaks up the oily capsaicin and acts as a "fire extinguisher". Ever wonder why sopapillas are served with honey for dessert... cuts the heat.
