Scoville scale Scoville Heat Units can be made by multiplying ppm H by a factor of 15" (modified to a factor of 16 by others). Another source using subjective assessment stated: "Conventional methods used in determining the level of pungency or capsaicin concentration are using a panel of tasters (Scoville Organoleptic test method). ... Pepper pungency is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). This measurement is the highest dilution of a chile pepper extract at which heat can be detected by a taste panel (Bosland et al., 2007)." Since Scoville ratings are defined per unit of dry mass, comparison of ratings between
William Beecher Scoville William Beecher Scoville William Beecher Scoville (January 13, 1906 – February 25, 1984) was a neurosurgeon at Hartford Hospital. Scoville established the Department of Neurosurgery at Connecticut's Hartford Hospital in 1939. He performed surgery on Henry Gustav Molaison in 1953 to relieve epilepsy that led to damage of Molaison's hippocampus and left him with a memory disorder. Scoville was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 13, 1906. Although he had a strong interest in automobiles throughout his life, his father pushed William toward a career in medicine. After completing his undergraduate degree at Yale (B.A., 1928), he attended and graduated