Scoville scale

A system devised in 1912 by Wilber Lincoln Scoville for determining the relative ‘spiciness’ of hot peppers; under the Scoville method, a dried pepper is dissolved in alcohol, serially diluted in sugar water and given to a panel of tasters who sip increasingly diluted concentrations of peppers out of shot glass to the point at which the tasters no longer have a sensation of burning

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Scoville scale

Nutrition/masochism A system devised by WL Scoville for determining the relative 'spiciness' of hot peppers; a dried pepper is dissolved in alcohol, serially diluted in sugar water and given to a panel of tasters who sip increasingly diluted concentrations of peppers. See Capsaicin, Spicy food.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.