flyinglentris
Disabled and Retired Veteran
I started this thread as a spin-off from the salads thread where a discussion on peppers was taking place.
There are many varieties of peppers and a primary feature of peppers is how hot they are. This is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). SHUs range from 0 for bell peppers to over 3,000,000 for a specially cultivated pepper called pepper X. The heat of a pepper is due to the concentration of a chemical called capsaicin.
The primary location of capsaicin in a pepper is in its heart, the part that holds the seeds.
I have also noted from the salad thread discussion that some peppers share a name in Europe and in the US, but are not the same pepper. Serrano peppers in the USA are not the same as Serrano peppers in Europe. It is helpful to discuss these differences, especially in light of their mention in recipes. So, this thread can serve to enlighten in this regard.
Also, some peppers look very much alike, but are not the same, having marked differences in SHU values, in particular.
Identifying specific peppers and why one would choose to use them in a recipe is a perfect discussion element for this thread.
There are many varieties of peppers and a primary feature of peppers is how hot they are. This is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). SHUs range from 0 for bell peppers to over 3,000,000 for a specially cultivated pepper called pepper X. The heat of a pepper is due to the concentration of a chemical called capsaicin.
The primary location of capsaicin in a pepper is in its heart, the part that holds the seeds.
I have also noted from the salad thread discussion that some peppers share a name in Europe and in the US, but are not the same pepper. Serrano peppers in the USA are not the same as Serrano peppers in Europe. It is helpful to discuss these differences, especially in light of their mention in recipes. So, this thread can serve to enlighten in this regard.
Also, some peppers look very much alike, but are not the same, having marked differences in SHU values, in particular.
Identifying specific peppers and why one would choose to use them in a recipe is a perfect discussion element for this thread.