Peppers (Capsium Annuum)

Peppers (Capsium Annuum)

CAPSICUM ANNUUM

Family: Solanaceae

Kind: Small shrub

There are more than 40 spieces of Capsicum Annuum. For a full list click here.

CHILLI PEPPERS
AKA: chili, chile

Scoville Heat Units (SHU)

The Scoville Heat Units was developed by Wilbur L. Scoville (1865-1942). The scale measures the the amount of capsaicin in peppers. Capsaicin is the chemical mix found in peppers that causes it to burn on your tongue and make you sweat. Most capsaicin comes from the seeds and the ribs of the pepper.

The larger Scoville Heat Units a pepper (or a hot sauce) is assigned, the hotter it is.

Bell Pepper – heat 0 SHU

Jalapeño

Simply called chillie in the UK – heat 2,500–8,000 SHU

Cayenne pepper – heat 30,000–50,000 SHU (red)

Fresno – similar to jalapeño but with thinner walls. Most common chilli for Salsa. – heat 2,500–10,000 SHU

Sweet Cayenne – 1 – 1,000 SHU

Bird’s Eye Chilli – 50,000–100,000 SHU. AKA Thai Chilli, Bird Eye Chilli

Serrano – 10,000–23,000 SHU

Chipotle

a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño

Ancho is dried red Poblano – 1,000–2,000 SHU

Red pepper flakes

AKA: Chilli flake

A mix of peppers (like jalapeno, bell, fresno and anaheim) with cayenne pepper as the base ingredient. Exact blend differs between brands.

Paprika is traditionally made from sweet bell pepper but can be made from any pepper in the Caspium annum family. Taste can be mild to hot and flavour can vary between countries.