The heat of chili peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU)

1. The heat of a pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) named after the pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The SHU, devised in 1912, uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the amount of capsaicin present in the peppers. The scale goes from 0-16million units and a measurement of one part capsaicin per million corresponds to about 15 Scoville units. The hottest Jalapeño has a SHU of about 8,000. A Habanero pepper has about 100,000-300,000. The hottest pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, has an average SHU of 1.2 million units.