Some Like It Hot
When it comes to growing and eating peppers, many people will opt for the sweet, mild peppers while others prefer the ones with heat. The reasons are varied but may have to do with factors such as cultural (we eat what’s in our environment or what we’ve grown up eating), genes (yes, they play a role in how we taste), and the adrenalin (some folks experience a rush) that can come from eating spicy hot cuisine.
A compound known as capsaicin is the active ingredient that provides the heat in hot chili peppers. Capsaicin is most often found in the light-colored ribbing known as pith. The seeds may contain a little capsaicin but taste hot most likely because of contact with the pith.
Capsaicin heat is measured on the Scoville Scale as Scoville Heat Units (SHU). An Anaheim chili pepper might have 500-2,500 SHU, for example, whereas a cayenne pepper might measure upwards of 30,000-50,000 SHU. Then, there are the tiny habanero peppers that can exceed 100,000 SHU. The hottest peppers in the world measure beyond 1 million SHU.
If you like it hot, try growing some heirloom peppers such as the Hungarian Yellow Wax or the tiny Scotch Bonnet, so appreciated in Caribbean cuisine.
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