The mildest peppers such as sweet bell peppers and cherry peppers are at the bottom of the Scoville scale. In the middle are peppers italian pickled banana peppers Serrano, yellow hot wax peppers, and red cayenne peppers. At the hottest end of the heat scale are the Habanero and the Scotch Bonnet. Several factors account for peppers’ heat.
First, of course, is the type of pepper you’re dealing with and, beyond that, whether the particular strain of that pepper has been bred for maximum or minimum heat. The next factor is whether you remove the seeds and fleshy internal ribs of the pepper, where most of the heat resides. Finally, heat depends on when the pepper was harvested. A few peppers, like the sweet bell peppers we’re all familiar with or the pimentos we find in green olives, will never be hot.
Most peppers, however, provide a kick of warmth ranging from mild to volcanic. And how are unsuspecting pepper-lovers to know what they’re about to bite into? A century ago, pharmacist Wilbur Scoville designed a heat-scoring test for peppers that’s still in use today. While an individual pepper can taste milder or hotter than its score due to other variables, and taste sensitivity can vary from person to person, the Scoville scale is a good guide to picking packs of peppers.