Capsaicin Measurements

I want to make a wicked spicy dish that involves Capsaicin, and regular chicken wings. I did the research to find two answers. "Capsaicin at the right amount can kill you" and "No amount of capsaicin can kill you but will result in massive pain".

My question is, for 20 decent wings, how much Capsaicin should I add to make it the equivalent to the taste and heat of a Carolina Reaper?

Best Answer

So the start of this is pretty simple math.

Carolina Reaper flesh is around 2 million SHU.

Pure capsaicin is around 16 million SHU.

So reaper peppers are 1/8th the heat of pure capsaicin crystals.

But, the second part is more challenging. Do you want to suppliment the wings with 1/8 the volume, weight, or surface area of capsaicin powder? Weight is the easiest to figure; it would suggest that you want 13g of capsaicin per 102g average-sized wing.

However, what you bite into is the surface of the wing, and there's a good argument to be made that's where you're concerned with capsaicin density. This is harder to figure though, partly because there are no published stats on the average surface area of a chicken wing, nor the average dispersion of pure capsaicin crystals.

So the best approach is probably to handle this experimentally: start with half the weight calculation above, adding 6.5g of capsaicin per wing. Take a bite of chicken, wash your mouth out with two gallons of warm milk, and then take a bite of reaper pepper. Decide which is hotter, and adjust.

Oh, and probably talk to your doctor before attempting this.

Pictures about "Capsaicin Measurements"

Capsaicin Measurements - Top view of crop anonymous person cutting fresh green chili peppers on wooden chopping board

Capsaicin Measurements - Green hot pepper on cutting board and plate

Quick Answer about "Capsaicin Measurements"

Standard pepper spray ranges from 2,000,000–5,300,000 while pure capsaicin ranges from 15-16,000,000 units. The Carolina Reaper is currently considered to be the hottest pepper in the world with a Scoville Heat Unit ranging from 1.56 million units to 2.2 million units.

What is the unit of measurement of spiciness?

How is spiciness measured? Scoville ratings are traditionally used to rate the chilli heat of food. The Scoville method was developed in 1912 by Wilbur Scoville and is a measurement of the pungency of spice, a function of capsaicin concentration.

How many Scoville units is a capsaicin?

On the Scoville heat scale pure capsaicin has a value of 15 000 000 to 16 000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). To put this into perspective, standard pepper spray (as used in self-defence) has a rating of between 2 000 000 and 5 300 000 SHU.

How hot is 50000 Scoville units?

The Scoville Heat ScaleScoville Heat UnitsChilli Pepper40,000 - 50,000Santaka pepper30,000 - 50,000Cayenne pepper (Capsicum baccatum and Capsicum frutescens )30,000 - 50,000Tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens)15,000 - 30,000de Arbol pepper40 more rows

How are Scoville heat units measured?

Scoville heat units \u2013 often shortened to just SHU \u2013 are simply a measurement of sugar-water. The Scoville Organoleptic Test measures chili heat by figuring out how much sugar-water needed to be diluted into a chili pepper mash to get to the point where you no longer feel the heat at all. It's all done in equal parts.

Capsaicin determination

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