About Scovidex and How We Build the Pepper Index
Every heat range on this site names its source. Here is how we build it.
Counted by the build from the pepper records.
Counted from the Sources list on every page.
Counted by the build on every page.
How we build an entry.
- 1
Find the primary source
A university extension page, a peer-reviewed paper or a government database. Never another pepper site.
- 2
Read the number on the page
We open the source and read the figure where it is printed. A link that loads proves nothing.
- 3
Show the range, not one pod
We print the range the source published, so you see how far the heat can swing.
- 4
Check it again
Every source carries the date we last read it. Records that change, like the hottest pepper, get checked each quarter.
What counts as a source
- University extension services
- Peer-reviewed papers
- Government agencies
- Guinness World Records, for records only
- A maker's own page, for its own product only
What we never do
- Copy numbers from other pepper sites
- Claim tasting or growing we did not do
- Print a number we could not read on its source
Why we show a range, not one pod
Heat changes from plant to plant. Soil, water, sun and the summer all push the number up or down, so one pod tells you about that pod and little else.
That is why each bar below is the span a source published. If a seed packet prints one number, treat it as a single pod.
What we do when two sources disagree
It happens more often than you might think. Three sources give three different figures for the ghost pepper:
| Publisher | Figure | What kind of number |
|---|---|---|
| HortScience lab paper2 | 1,001,304 SHU | Mean of a bulked sample of 25 fruits, measured by HPLC |
| UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions3 | 1,041,427 SHU | One figure on a list, no method given |
| NMSU Chile Pepper Institute4 | 1 million SHU | A rounded figure |
We print the lab paper's mean, because it says how the researchers picked the pods and measured the heat2. When a source gives no method, we keep it in our notes and show the one that does.
Who writes Scovidex?
The pages are signed "the Scovidex team". No single named expert reviews them, and we will not invent one.
Each page lists its sources at the end, with the date we checked them. If you find a number that does not match its source, the support page reaches us.
Found an error?
Tell us on the support pageSources
· 4
- 1University of Florida IFAS Extension HS-859/TR010: Pepper Production in Miami-Dade County, Florida
- 2HortScience 42(2):222-224 'Bhut Jolokia', the world's hottest known chile pepper, is a putative naturally occurring interspecific hybrid (Bosland and Baral)
- 3UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions (Center for Land Use Efficiency) Peppers by Scoville Units
- 4New Mexico State University, Chile Pepper Institute Heat