Chilli Heat Is Measured in Scoville Units
A chilli is a hot pepper. Its heat has a scale, and the scale began with a panel of human tasters.
A chilli is the pungent fruit of *Capsicum* plants. Heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units, devised in 1912: Wilbur Scoville diluted chilli extract in sugar water until a panel of tasters could no longer detect the burn, and the dilution factor became the score. Laboratories now measure capsaicin directly and convert to the same scale.
- A hot pepper. *A red chilli.*
- A spiced dish. *A bowl of chilli.*
- Chilli as a modifier. *Chilli powder.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | chilli | A fresh chilli. |
| Plural | chillies | Dried chillies. |
| American | chili | Chili peppers. |
| Compound | chilli con carne | A pot of chilli con carne. |
| Related | capsaicin | Pure capsaicin. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Capsaicin causes the burning sensation.It binds to a heat receptor.
- Milk helps more than water.Capsaicin dissolves in fat, not water.
- Birds are unaffected by chilli heat.They lack the receptor, and they spread the seeds.
The Scoville scale
- Bell pepper — zero
- Jalapeño — a few thousand units
- Cayenne — tens of thousands
- Habanero — hundreds of thousands
- Carolina Reaper — over a million
From Spanish *chile*, from Nahuatl *chilli*. The spelling varies: *chilli* in Britain, *chili* in America, *chile* in Spanish and much of the American Southwest.
Why does milk help with chilli heat?
Capsaicin dissolves in fat rather than water, so fatty dairy carries it away while water spreads it around.
Chilli, chili or chile?
Chilli is British, chili American, chile Spanish and common in the American Southwest. All three are correct in their own contexts.