The Core of the Sun enhancing her knowledge of chili peppers by extending an invitation to his farm. There, she sampled and grew an assortment of peppers. Working with chili peppers allowed Sinisalo to understand factors such as the Scoville rating which is determined by capsaicinoids. The Scoville scale measures the spiciness (heat) of the pepper. One can explore the Scoville ratings, health benefits, and growing techniques of peppers on Kilpinen's website In the Core of the Sun's Afterword, Sinisalo describes the Transcendental Capsaicinophilic Society as “ a real, though somewhat tongue-in-cheek, group that can be found on the Internet.” A quick Google search reveals
Scoville scale mouth heat receptors, which vary widely among people. Another weakness is sensory fatigue; the palate is quickly desensitized to capsaicinoids after tasting a few samples within a short time period. Results vary widely (up to ± 50%) between laboratories. Since the 1980s, spice heat has been assessed quantitatively by HPLC, which measures the concentration of heat-producing capsaicinoids, typically with capsaicin content as the main measure. As stated in one review: "the most reliable, rapid, and efficient method to identify and quantify capsaicinoids is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); the results of which can be converted to Scoville Heat Units by multiplying