Figure 5.1. The relationship between the mass of the extracted capsaicinoids and the piquancy
| Name | Official Piquancy (SHU)* | Mass of Peppers (g) | Mass of Capsds. (g) | Mass of Capsds. per Gram of Peppers (g Capsds./g Peppers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotch Bonnet | 125,000 | 50.71 |
1.46 | 0.0369 |
| Jamaican Hot Peppers | 180,000 | 52.63 |
2.54 | 0.0618 |
| Thai Hot Peppers | 140,000 | 41.12 |
1.41 | 0.0397 |
| Bird's Eye Chili | 105,000 | 45.54 |
1.89 | 0.0343 |
| Pusa Jwal | 60,000 | 55.10 |
1.06 | 0.0233 |
| Etna Hot Peppers | unavailable | 35.48 |
1.44 | 0.0284 |
| Cao Bong Boogie Hot Peppers | unavailable | 39.60 | 3.05 | 0.0580 |
*The official piquancy was obtained from reliable sources and was measured using the HPLC method.
Interestingly, these data match the spiciness I smelled when the peppers were cut.
The mass of capsaicinoids per gram of peppers is graphed against official piquancy:
From the graph above, it is found that the correlation between the mass of extracted capsaicinoids per gram of pepper and its piquancy is linear. The line of best fit is drawn and the slope is 2.97 × 106 and the y-intercept is 0. It can be used to convert the mass of capsaicinoids per gram of peppers to the piquancy in SHUs.
Therefore, the equation of the line of best fit is:
Piquancy = 2.97 × 106 SHU · g Peppers/g Capsaicinoids × Mass of Capsaisinoids per Gram of Peppers
From data analysis , a completely new mathematical relationship is found. Using this equation, the mass of extracted capsaicinoids per gram of peppers can be converted into the spiciness in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). Therefore, one can simply extract the capsaicinoids with ethanol from a pepper and conveniently substitute the value into this equation to find out the pepper's spiciness quantitatively.
As an example, even though the data for the official piquancy of Etna Hot Peppers and Cao Bong Boogie Hot Peppers are not available, interpolation can be used to find them.
Etna Hot Peppers:
Cao Bong Boogie Hot Peppers:
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