Given the wide selection of options in our Dried Bulk Chilies section, we thought it would be a good to list each chili in terms of its heat level and flavor to help you decide between them.
The Scoville Scale:
The Scoville heat scale (developed in 1912) is the oldest and most commonly referenced method of measuring pepper heat. The testing method is actually pretty simple: a panel of five or more judges is subjected to a taste test featuring the paste form of each pepper that has been diluted with sugar syrup. The degree of dilution required for the judges not to detect any capsaicin in the mixture determines each pepper’s rating on the scale. Despite its inherent subjectivity, this scale is still a useful way of ranking peppers relative to other peppers.
Chile Heat Scale:
| Pepper | Flavor Profile | Scoville Heat Level | |
| Bell Pepper | 0 | ||
 |
Nora Chilies | (earthy, little or no heat) | 0-500 |
 |
Shishito Peppers | (grassy, citrusy, very mild) | 50-200 |
| Aji Paprika Chilies | (mild) | Up to 500 | |
| Pepperoncini | 100-500 | ||
 |
Aji Panca Chilies | (mild and fruity, poblano-esque) | 500-1,500 |
 |
Red Anaheim Chilies | (sweet, fresh form of New Mexico Chilies) | 500-1,500 |
| Poblano | 500-2,500 | ||
 |
Mulato Chilies | (chocolate/licorice-like flavor) | 500-2,500 |
 |
Organic New Mexico Chilies | (dried red Anaheim peppers) | 500-2,500 |
|
New Mexico Chilies | (dried red Anaheim peppers) | 750-1,250 |
|
Organic Aji Panca Chilies | (mild and fruity, poblano-esque) | 1,000-1,500 |
 |
Green Anaheim Chilies | (immature fresh New Mexico Chilies) | 1,000-1,500 |
 |
Ancho Chilies | (dried poblanos) | 1,000-1,500 |
 |
Pasilla Negro Chilies | (good in moles) | 1,000-2,000 |
 |
Guajillo Chilies | (mild flavor, some heat) | 2,500-5,000 |
 |
Jalapeño Chilies | (some heat, grassy-earthy flavor) | 2,500-8,000 |
 |
Red Fresno Chilies | (fresh chilies, good in sauces & soups) | 2,500-10,000 |
 |
Puya Chilies | (similar flavor to Guajillo, more spice) | 5,000-8,000 |
 |
Organic Chipotle Morita Chilies | (smoked, dried Jalapeño) | 5,000-10,000 |
 |
Yellow Caribe Chilies | (fresh chilies, great baked or in soups) | 5,000-15,000 |
 |
Aji Amarillo Chilies | (essential in Peruvian food) | 5,000-25,000 |
 |
Brown (Meco) Chipotle Chilies | (smoky & spicy) | 7,000-18,000 |
|
Chipotle Morita Chilies | (smoked, dried Jalapeño) | 7,000-25,000 |
 |
Urfa Biber Chilies | (sweet, citrusy & smoky) | 7,500 |
 |
Cascabel Chilies | (round, with seeds that rattle) | 8,000-12,000 |
 |
Smoked Serrano Chilies | (savory, not fruity heat) | 8,000-22,000 |
 |
De Arbol Chilies | (similar to cayenne) | 15,000-30,000 |
 |
Japones Chilies | (medium-strength asian chile) | 15,000-36,000 |
|
Organic Aji Amarillo Chilies | (essential in Peruvian food) | 40,000-50,000 |
 |
Pequin Chilies | (spicy, hint of citrus, sweetness) | 40,000-50,000 |
 |
Aji Limo Rojo Chilies | (organic, slightly sweet, crisp) | 50,000-60,000 |
 |
Tepin Chilies | (powerful but brief heat) | 50,000-70,000 |
 |
Fresh Thai Chilies | (available red or green) | ~50,000-100,000 |
 |
Dried Thai Chilies | (used in Thai, Chinese cooking) | 50,000-100,000 |
 |
Aji Cereza Chilies | (organic, milder substitute for Habaneros) | 70,000-80,000 |
 |
Habanero Chilies | (very hot, fruity/floral flavor) | 100,000-200,000 |
|
Organic Habanero Chilies | (very hot, fruity/floral flavor) | 100,000-300,000 |
| Scotch Bonnet Chilies | (similar heat to Habanero, fruitier flavor) | 75,000-325,000 | |
 |
Ghost Chilies | (very, very hot with slight smokiness) | 300,000-400,000 |
| Scorpion Chilies | (incredibly hot) | Up to 800,000 |
What is Capsaicin?
Capsaicin is the naturally occurring molecule in chili peppers (likely evolved to deter mammals from eating them) that causes a burning sensation when it comes into contact with any tissue. Recent biological studies have demonstrated that it also actually activates heat receptors in the human mouth (just as menthol activates cold receptors).
Too Hot?
One of the easiest ways to tone down a chile pepper is by removing the seeds and inner ribs. This will significantly decrease the total capsaicin level of the pepper.
Comments 29
Hi Justin,
Here is a link to the Gather article about your chili and ghost peppers. We had a lot of fun talking about your peppers.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?memberId=192501&articleId=281474977601064&nav=MyGather
I am desperately looking for fresh or frozen aji armarillo peppers, any leads? Thank you
Author
I’m afraid at this time we only have access to dried aji amarillo peppers. Sorry!
-Matthew
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Ghost Beef Jerky
1 Cup Soy Sauce
2 TBSP Garlic Powder
2 TBSP Onion Powder
3 Ghost Peppers
1/4 cup Water
4 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 Pound Londo Broil ( beef of choice )
In small food processer add 1/2 cup soy sauce and peppers. Blend till liquid. pour into glass bowl. Slice beef into 1/4″ strips. mix all ingredents together add beef. Marinaite over night in refer and dehydrate. A dehydrator is best.
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whats dihes can i cook with the typ cillie.
Author
Hi Jeniffer,
You’ll find all of our chile recipes here —> Chile Recipe Collection.
As to which recipes work for which chiles, most chiles can be used in all chile recipes, it just depends on how hot you want the finished dish to be!
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Do you ever have either Urfa or Aleppo peppers in stock? These are both out of the middle east and a bit hard to find, both have excellent characteristics of heat, flavor and a bit of smokiness.
thanks
Author
Hi Tim,
While we don’t currently carry them on the site, we may be able to special order crushed Aleppo peppers for you in bulk. Send us an e-mail (info (at) marxfoods (dot) com) or give us a call (866-588-6279) if you’d like a custom quote!
Matthew
MarxFoods
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When can you get fresh bhut jolokia chilies? And what is the price on them
Author
Hi Travis,
We’re not sure when the fresh ghost chilies will be back in stock, but if you’d like we’d be happy to notify you when we have them again. Unfortunately we can’t predict at this time what the price is going to be when they return.
Matthew
MarxFoods.com
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Every other place has ghost peppers as topping out at one million scoville units. Why are yours rated so much lower?
Author
Hi JG,
Ghost chilies, like all chilies, can vary in heat level from chile to chile and from origin to origin. How & where they are grown can make a huge difference. That million scoville units you see elsewhere online is, in our opinion, better described as “up to 1 million scoville units”. It’s not our impression that it’s based on the actual chilies being sold, but instead the highest test results known being applied to the variety as representative of all ghost chilies.
In our case, the number you see on this chart was provided by the company importing the chilies for us, and is the result of them actually testing their chilies. While there will be variance even within our supply, we felt it was better to err on the side of being accurate rather than sensational.
Matthew
MarxFoods
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Congrats on entitling your article using the correctly spelled word “chile”. I was pleasantly surprised – so many web publishers get it wrong. Alas, I am dismayed to see that, when writing the word chile in the plural form, you have incorrectly added the letter “i” (resulting in “chilies”). The correct plural is “chiles”.
I know. You’ll go to other sources on the web (or even in print), written by Gringos, and find “chilies”. But they have it wrong. Look at Mexican and other Latin American cookbooks and you’ll see “chiles”.
It is a responsibility of publishers dealing with cultural subjects, like cuisine, to spell words properly rather than perpetuate incorrect spellings.
Bravo for including this comment on your page. You are clearly a publisher with integrity.
How is the “hotness” of peppers determined or measured?
Author
Hi Larry,
I’ve answered your question as a separate post on our AskMarxFoods blog here. I hope it helps!
Matthew
Marx Foods
You have a nice chile Heat Scale. However it is a little out of date and the chiles at the top are quite hotter than what you state.
Ghost Chilies 855,000 SHUs – 1,041,427 SHUs
Scorpion Chilies (incredibly hot) Up to more than 2 million
Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper®
World’s Hottest Pepper Guinness World Records since August 07, 2013. It averages a 1,569,300 on the Scoville scale with peak levels of over 2,200,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
and unoffically
Ed Currie has developed the HP56 Chilie that is almost 3 million SHU. some people are dubbing it the HP56 Death Strain
Author
Hi Billy,
Thanks for commenting and providing all that great info! Our chile scale is actually based on the scoville testing for the chilies we offer. In some cases at the very top of the scale the specific chilies we carry have tested at a level that is lower than the “ideal”.
Rather than set up false expectations, we’ve used the numbers we’ve been provided to ensure the scale is as accurate to our products as possible.
Matthew
Marx Foods
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