Chili pepper · California
Red Savina
450,000 Scoville heat units
A selectively bred habanero that held the record from 1994 to 2006.
What this rung gets you The ghost pepper wings on the challenge board
How hot Red Savina actually is
Red Savina is about 90 times hotter than a jalapeño, and it does not hold still — published figures run from 350,000 to 577,000 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 11, Ghost, which spans 450K to 1.1M SHU. Bhut jolokia. The burn is delayed — it can take 30 seconds to arrive, which is how people talk themselves into a second bite they regret.
Training to this rung is what gets you: The ghost pepper wings on the challenge board.
Comparable heat
Anything here burns at roughly the same level, which is what makes them interchangeable when you are training at this rung.
- Ghost pepper 1,041,427
Common questions
How hot is Red Savina on the Scoville scale?
Red Savina measures about 450,000 Scoville heat units, with a published range of 350,000 to 577,000 SHU. That is about 90 times hotter than a jalapeño.
Where does Red Savina sit on the ladder?
Rung 11 of twelve — Ghost, covering 450K to 1.1M SHU. Bhut jolokia. The burn is delayed — it can take 30 seconds to arrive, which is how people talk themselves into a second bite they regret.
What stops the burn from Red Savina?
Dairy. Capsaicin is fat-soluble, so water spreads it rather than removing it; the casein in milk, yogurt 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.
So where does that leave the rest of us?
Nobody arrives here in one night. The people who eat these climbed. One rung down is already this: A vindaloo cooked the way the kitchen eats it. Name the hottest thing you eat without thinking. See where you actually stand.
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