A Scoville Unit is basically a unit of measurement indicating the HEAT LEVEL in Chile Peppers. The person responsible for creating this method was WILBUR SCOVILLE. In 1912, Wilbur was working for Parke Davis to develop a muscle cream called HEET. The new product "HEET" used pure CAPSAICIN (a substance derived from chili peppers that provided the heat).

Since the heat derived from the peppers varied so much, he had to develop a method of heat measurement. Thus the "Scoville Organoleptic Test" was born! (We at Better Than Freds™ still use the original time-tested method...the "Tongue-o-Meter"!)

The procedure that Scoville developed to was blend pure ground chilies with a solution of sugar and water and soak them overnight in the solution. Then he would take a measurement of the liquid and add sugar water until the heat was barely noticed on his tongue. This became the Scoville Measurement of Heat.

A number was then assigned to each chili based on how much it needed to be diluted before you could no longer detect heat. One part chili "heat" per 1,000,000 drops of water rates as 1.5 Scoville Units. The pungency of chili peppers is measured in multiples of 100 units, from the Bell pepper at zero Scoville units to the Habaņero at 300,000 Scoville units. The "Red Savina" Habaņero has been rated at 350,000 Scoville units. Capsaicin (the substance found in chills that gives them their heat), in a pure concentration, rates at over 15,000,000 Scoville Units!

Better Than Freds SalsaŽ uses a number of chili peppers in different concentrations to achieve our levels of heat and unique flavor. We can't tell you the exact measurements, but we can say that our fresh taste and smooth spicyness comes from using more peppers than other salsas as opposed to the same two or three.