What is the hottest sauce in the world?
The hottest sauces are pure chili extracts measuring millions of Scoville Heat Units. Products such as Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 are marketed at around 9 million SHU, far hotter than any fresh pepper.
The Scoville scale measures how much capsaicin, the chemical that makes chilies hot, a food contains. A jalapeño is about 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville Heat Units, and Tabasco sauce is about 2,500 to 5,000. The hottest pepper recognized by Guinness World Records is Pepper X, at about 2.69 million SHU, declared in 2023.
Extreme sauces and extracts are made by concentrating capsaicin from peppers, reaching levels no natural pepper can. They are meant to be used a drop at a time, and some carry safety warnings. Pure capsaicin measures about 16 million SHU.
Hot sauce challenges
Hot sauce challenges, like the online show Hot Ones, where celebrities eat increasingly spicy wings, have made extreme heat popular. Doctors warn that very hot products can cause severe pain, vomiting and, in rare cases, more serious reactions, so they should be used with care.
Did You Know?
Milk helps ease a burning mouth because a protein in it, casein, helps wash away capsaicin, while water just spreads it around.