What makes Chili peppers so hot?

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Capsaicin makes chili peppers hot Some like it hot and if you’re one of them then you like capsaicin. It’s the chemical that makes your mouth burn when you eat chili peppers. Capsaicin causes this burning sensation in all mammals.

Plants produce capsaicin to protect their seeds from mammals that destroy their seeds when they eat the plant's fruit. When birds eat the fruit they don’t hurt the seeds, in fact they help the plant distribute them. So, it’s not a surprise that birds can’t sense capsaicin and aren’t bothered by it.

The seeds themselves don’t contain capsaicin. Instead its found in the “white” cross wall and veins of the pod and to a lesser extent the fleshy part.

The most scientific way to measure the hotness or piquancy of different chili peppers is to use high-performance liquid chromatography, but this method is more expensive than the older “Scoville” method. The Scoville method is more subjective and uses a group of taste testers (usually around 5) to rate the hotness.

Below is a chart showing the Scoville heat units for a variety of peppers

Scoville Units	.
15,000,000-16,000,000	Pure Capsaicin
2,000,000-5,300,000	Standard U.S. Grade pepper spray
350,000-580,000	Red Savina, Habanero
100,000-350,000	Habanero chili, Jamaican Hot Pepper, African Birdseye
50,000-100,000	Thai Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper
30,000-50,000	Cayenne Pepper, Tabasco pepper
10,000-23,000	Some Chipotle peppers
2,500-8,000	Jalapeño Pepper
500-2,500	Anaheim pepper
100-500	Pepperoncini
0	No heat