Hot sauce · Mérida, Mexico
El Yucateco Red
9,000 Scoville heat units
Red habanero and achiote. The Yucatán standard.
What this rung gets you Buffalo wings at hot, and finish the basket
How hot El Yucateco Red actually is
El Yucateco Red is in the same range as a jalapeño. Growing conditions move any published figure several-fold, so read it as the middle of a range rather than a promise.
On the twelve-rung ladder
It sits on rung 6, Bite, which spans 6.5K to 15K SHU. The top of the jalapeño range and the bottom of the serrano range. Sweating slightly here is expected and is not a sign you have overshot.
Training to this rung is what gets you: Buffalo wings at hot, and finish the basket.
Comparable heat
Anything here burns at roughly the same level, which is what makes them interchangeable when you are training at this rung.
- Tabasco Habanero 7,000
- Hungarian wax 8,000
- Aleppo 10,000
- Crystal Extra Hot 10,000
Common questions
How hot is El Yucateco Red on the Scoville scale?
El Yucateco Red measures about 9,000 Scoville heat units. That is in the same range as a jalapeño.
Where does El Yucateco Red sit on the ladder?
Rung 6 of twelve — Bite, covering 6.5K to 15K SHU. The top of the jalapeño range and the bottom of the serrano range. Sweating slightly here is expected and is not a sign you have overshot.
What stops the burn from El Yucateco Red?
Dairy. Capsaicin is fat-soluble, so water spreads it rather than removing it; the casein in milk, yoghurt or ice cream lifts it off the receptor. A spoonful of sugar held in the mouth measurably helps too. Starch — rice or bread — physically carries it off the tongue.
Coming soon to the App Store
Eating El Yucateco Red is rung 6 of twelve
Buffalo wings at hot, and finish the basket — that is what rung 6 gets you. Scoville Ladder gets you to rung 6 on a schedule rather than a dare: a heat to train at tonight, rest between, and a target that moves with the burn you actually report.
Find your rung See the twelve rungs
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