Question

What does a Scoville unit measure?

Answer 1

A Scoville unit measures the spiciness of a chili pepper. It is based on the concentration of capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers that gives them their heat. The higher the Scoville unit, the spicier the chili pepper.

Answer 2

A Scoville unit measures the heat level or spiciness of chili peppers and other spicy foods. It's named after American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, who invented the measurement in 1912. The Scoville scale ranges from 0 (no heat, like a bell pepper) to over 2 million (extremely hot, such as the Carolina Reaper pepper). The measurement is usually determined by tasting and diluting a chili pepper extract with sugar water until the heat is no longer detectable to most tasters.