Scoville scale
Escala Scoville
- Date
- 1912 · confidence high
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Credited to
- Wilbur Scoville
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville devised in 1912, at the Parke-Davis company laboratory, the 'Scoville organoleptic test', a method to quantify chili pepper heat by diluting their extract in sugar water until a panel of tasters no longer perceived burning, giving rise to Scoville Heat Units (SHU).
The original method relied on the subjective judgment of human tasters; today it is complemented by HPLC, though results are still expressed in Scoville units by tradition.
What it led to
- standardization of heat measurement in the food and pharmaceutical industries
- comparative classification of chili pepper varieties
- gradual replacement by more objective instrumental methods such as HPLC