The hot pepper pod, like all peppers, belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae. Definitely a very “strange” family.
One of the 85 species of the nightshade family is the Capsicum (scientific name of pepper), to which also belongs the red chili pepper.
The most common variety in Italy is the Capsicum annuum (scientific name of Spanish pepper). The Capsicum annuum combines the most common varieties: Capsicum abbreviatum, Acuminatum, Fasciculatum, Cerasiferum, Bicolor and christmas candle. For the sake of simplicity, we recommend you to forget the scientific names and classifications and to call the chili peppers with their local names:-).
The regional names of chili peppers
Pevium in Liguria; peuvroun in Piedmont; peverone in Lombardy; pevrum in Emilia; pepe rosso or zenzero in Tuscany; lazzarette or cazzarele at Pescara and Chieti; saittì at Teramo; pepentò piccante at L’Aquila; diavulillu in Molise; peparuolo in Campania; diavulicchio in Apulia; cancarillo, pipazzu, pipi vruscente or diavulillo in Calabria; pibiri-moriscu in Sardinia; pipi russi in Sicily; and to come to an end cerasella, mericanill or diavulicchiu in Lucania.
The taste
There are sweet, hot and really strong chili peppers. Everything depends on the proportion of Capsaicin, which emphasizes the hotness to its taste. Usually the smallest chili peppers are the hottest. Their grade of hotness is measured in Scoville Heat Units.
The Scoville Scale measures the hotness of a chili pepper.
These pods/fruits of the genus Capsicum contain Capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates the heat receptors located on the tongue, and exactly that stimulation causes the familiar feeling of “burning” in the mouth.
Scoville scale (in Scoville Heat Units – SHU)
|
Grade of Scoville |
|
|
15.000.000 – 16.000.000 |
Dihydrocapsaicin, pure Capsaicin |
|
8.800.000 – 9.100.000 |
|
|
6.000.000 – 8.600.000 |
Homodihydrocapsaicin, Homocapsaicin |
|
2.500.000 – 5.300.000 |
Pepper Spray used only by the police |
|
2.000.000 – 2.200.000 |
Carolina Reaper (hybrid) |
|
1.067.286 – 2.000.231 |
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Trinidad Scorpion, Butch Taylor, Naga Viper, Infinity Chili, Pepper Spray for common use |
|
855.000 – 1.041.427 |
Naga Morich, Naga Dorset, Seven Pod |
|
876.000 – 970.000 |
Bhut Jolokia (also known as Ghost Chili), Naga Jolokia (hybrid) |
|
350.000 – 855.000 |
Habanero Red Savina, Indian Tezpur |
|
100.000 – 350.000 |
Habanero, Jamaican Hot, Bird’s Eye (also known as “Piripiri”, “Pilipili”, “African Devil”) |
|
50.000 – 100.000 |
Scotch Bonnet, Santaka, Chiltecpin, Rocoto, Thai Pepper (also known as Thai Dragon) |
|
30.000 – 50.000 |
Ají, Cayenne pepper, Tabasco, Piquin Pepper |
|
15.000 – 30.000 |
Chile de Arbol, Calabrese, Manzano |
|
5.000 – 15.000 |
Peter Pepper, Serrano, Jalapeño |
|
2.500 – 5.000 |
Mirasol, Chipotle, Poblano |
|
1.500 – 2.500 |
Sandia, Cascabel, NuMex Big Jim, NuMex Suave |
|
1.000 – 1.500 |
Ancho, Anaheim, Pasilla Bajio, Española |
|
100 – 1.000 |
Mexican Bell-, Cherry- and New Mexico Pepper, Bell Pepper, Paprika |
|
0 – 100 |
Sweet Bell Pepper, Allspice, Sweet Paprika |
For those who would like to bury themselves in this subject, I propose to visit the following page:
http://www.peperoncino.org/old/index.html
(This page is only available in Italian!)
