Is there a Scoville scale for "coldness" (e.g. mint)?
Certain foods taste hot like peppers and are measured by the Scoville scale. Some foods also taste "cold". Mint is the main one that comes to mind. Is there a similar scale for this kind of taste?
If there isn't (or maybe even if there is) is there any reason we couldn't just use the same methodology as we do with the Scoville scale?
Best Answer
There are thermal sensation scales, and they are applied in food research too, although their primary use tends to be focused on clothing or environment. They tend to be categorical rather than ratio scales, and don't depend on the presence of a single compound the way scoville does. Despite checking several likely sources (a book on neurogastronomy, a thesis on measuring the perception of food - mostly focused on texture, but also discussing thermoreceptors) I didn't find a mention of a specific culinary scale that measures menthol concentration.
Instead of a specialized scale, industrial users of menthol products seem to simply use the relative menthol content, such as selling an essential oil that with "60% menthol". And the general public doesn't seem to have created a cult around menthol content the way it has done for capsaicine content - personally, I know more people who care for the scoville number of the chilli they are eating than people who can tell the difference between spearmint and apple mint.
I suspect that, while creating such a scale is possible, nobody has bothered to. And even if some food scientist did do it, it doesn't seem to have caught on, especially outside of professional circles.
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How spicy is 350000 Scoville?
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500,000 SHU: red savina pepper.What pepper is 350000 Scoville?
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Answer 2
Scoville's original method for determinig the Scoville level of a pepper was to dry the pepper, extract the heat components, and continunally dilute the extract until the majority of a panel of tasters could no longer detect it. It's not a great test, but could easily be adapted to any sort of sensation.
In the case of menthol, the majority of menthol in any detectable concentration that we encounter is added artificially so the exact menthol content is known.
Answer 3
The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or "heat") of chili peppers, as recorded in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicinoids.
You can find a list with the concentration of menthol in plants given in ppm. Here is a list I found on https://www.naturalmedicinefacts.info/chemical/17003.html. This is a type of scale that is similar to the Scoville scale, although it doesn't use human sensation as one of the criteria.
Mentha pulegium found in Shoot max 478,000 ppm
Helianthus annuus sunflower found in Flower max 310,000 ppm
Mentha arvensis var. piperascens found in Leaf max 24,385 ppm
Mentha x piperita subsp. nothosubsp. piperita found in Leaf max 20,000 ppm
Mentha spicata spearmint found in Leaf max 15,000 ppm
Mentha aquatica bergamot mint, eau-de-cologne mint, lemon mint, orange mint, water mint found in Shoot, Leaf max 3,570 ppm
Micromeria fruticosa found in Leaf max 3,030 ppm
Pycnanthemum virginianum Virginia mountain-mint, Virginia-thyme, wild basil found in Shoot max 3,016 ppm
Pelargonium graveolens rose geranium, rose-scent geranium found in Plant max 1,852 ppm
Satureja parvifolia found in Shoot max 1,010 ppm
Hedeoma pulegioides American false pennyroyal, American pennyroyal found in Plant, Pollen Or Spore max 1,000 ppm
Pycnanthemum incanum hoary mountain-mint found in Shoot max 798 ppm
Pycnanthemum pilosum hairy mountain-mint found in Flower, Leaf max 700 ppm
Mentha longifolia Biblical mint, horse mint, silver mint, wild mint found in Shoot max 620 ppm
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium narrow-leaf mountain-mint found in Shoot max 620 ppm
Artemisia dracunculus French tarragon, Russian tarragon, silky wormwood, tarragon, wild tarragon found in Shoot max 500 ppm
Pycnanthemum muticum blunt mountain-mint, clustered mountain-mint found in Shoot max 450 ppm
Satureja grandiflora greater calamint, large-flower calamint, mint-savory, showy calamint, showy-savory found in Shoot max 420 ppm
Sideritis scardica found in Shoot max 370 ppm
Calamintha nepeta lesser calamint found in Plant max 290 ppm
Minthostachys mollis found in Shoot max 215 ppm
Pycnanthemum clinopodioides found in Shoot max 176 ppm
Pycnanthemum beadlei found in Shoot max 140 ppm
Micromeria fruticosa subsp. barbata found in Shoot max 105 ppm
Mentha x rotundifolia
found in Leaf max 80 ppm 33475 Micromeria thymifolia found in Leaf max 45 ppm
Ocimum basilicum basil, sweet basil found in Essential Oil, Plant max 32 ppm
Pycnanthemum montanum found in Shoot max 32 ppm
Juniperus communis common juniper, dwarf juniper, juniper, malchangel, mountain juniper, prostrate juniper found in Fruit max 22 ppm
Elytrigia repens couch grass, coutch, dog grass, quack grass, quick grass, scutch, twitch grass found in Plant, Rhizome max 20 ppm
Hedeoma drummondii New Mexico pennyroyal found in Plant max 10 ppm
Acinos suaveolens found in Shoot max 3 ppm
Calamintha nepeta subsp. glandulosa lesser calamint found in Leaf max 1 ppm
Rheum palmatum Chinese rhubarb, ornamental rhubarb found in Rhizome max 1 ppm
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