ET’S CHILLI Heat Ratings

There are many different ways of assessing the heat of a chilli but for simpletons like me, I prefer a basic, graduated scale – you know, the 1 to 10 sort of idea.

And once upon a time, that worked well. The hottest chilli had been a habanero for ever and we all knew how to relate other chillies to it.

Then along came technology, selective breeding, greed and stupidity and people started engaging in an arms race for chilli heat. 

Fine for some, but of no interest to me.

So, for those of us who like it simple. here is my, ET’S CHILLI HEAT ratings based on the original out of 10 scale.

OLD SCALE / 10HEATExampleothersNEW SCALE/ 15
0SweetCapsicum
1MildPaprika
Pepperoncini
2MildAnaheim
3MildKashmiriPoblano, Big Jim
4MediumJalapeno
5MediumSerrano
6MediumCayenneTabasco, Aji
7HotThai
8HotBirds Eye
9HotRocoto
10Extra HotHabanero
11Red Savina HabaneroSuper Hot
12Dorset NagaSuper Hot
13Ghost (Bhut Jolokia)Super Hot
14Trinidad ScorpionButch T, Naga ViperExtreme
15Carolina ReaperExtreme

NOTE – before you all start shrieking that chilli A is hotter than chilli B, every chilli will have a different heat profile depending on where it is grown, how it is grown, and the climate. And two chilli pods on the very same plant can be significantly different in heat to each other.

So just enjoy…