The Heat Index
One honest scale, from no heat to fierce.
Scoville numbers are hard to picture. We taste every chilli and pepper in the shop side by side and place it on a simple 0 to 5 scale, printed on every tin.
0
No heat
0 SHU
Fragrance only. Saffron, cinnamon, cardamom and the rest of the warm spices.
1
Gentle
100–1,000 SHU
A soft glow you notice on the second bite. Sweet and smoked paprika.
On the shelf now
2
Warm
1,000–10,000 SHU
Rounded, lingering warmth that builds slowly. Urfa biber, Tellicherry pepper.
On the shelf now
3
Lively
10,000–30,000 SHU
Clean, quick heat at the front of the mouth. Aleppo, Kashmiri chilli.
On the shelf now
Arriving with the winter harvest
4
Hot
30,000–100,000 SHU
Sharp and long. Use a pinch, then taste. Cayenne, piri piri.
On the shelf now
Arriving with the winter harvest
5
Fierce
100,000+ SHU
For people who know what they are doing. Bird’s eye, scotch bonnet.
On the shelf now
Arriving with the winter harvest
Too hot?
Fat, sugar and acid all calm a dish down.
Add yogurt or butter
Capsaicin dissolves in fat, so dairy carries it away from your tongue.
A spoon of honey
Sweetness masks heat and rounds out smoky chillies.
Lemon or sumac
Acid brightens the dish and makes heat feel shorter.