Chili pepper · French Guiana
Cayenne
40,000 Scoville heat units
Most "chili powder" and nearly all hot sauce heat starts here.
What this rung gets you Nashville hot chicken at hot, not medium
How hot Cayenne actually is
Cayenne is about 8 times hotter than a jalapeño, and it does not hold still — published figures run from 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. Sunlight, drought stress and ripeness all push a pod up its range, so the number on a chart is the middle of a wide spread rather than a promise.
On the twelve-rung ladder
It sits on rung 8, Scorch, which spans 35K to 80K SHU. Most people never train past here. Portions get small: a single Thai chili is a full session, and finishing a plate is no longer the goal.
Training to this rung is what gets you: Nashville hot chicken at hot, not medium.
Comparable heat
Anything here burns at roughly the same level, which is what makes them interchangeable when you are training at this rung.
- Tabasco pepper 40,000
- Thai bird's eye 75,000
Common questions
How hot is Cayenne on the Scoville scale?
Cayenne measures about 40,000 Scoville heat units, with a published range of 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. That is about 8 times hotter than a jalapeño.
Where does Cayenne sit on the ladder?
Rung 8 of twelve — Scorch, covering 35K to 80K SHU. Most people never train past here. Portions get small: a single Thai chili is a full session, and finishing a plate is no longer the goal.
What stops the burn from Cayenne?
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 Cayenne is rung 8 of twelve
Nashville hot chicken at hot, not medium — that is what rung 8 gets you. Scoville Ladder gets you to rung 8 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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