Pepper encyclopedia
Every pepper. Every heat level. Every use.
Scoville ratings, flavor profiles, culinary uses, and the story behind each pepper — from a gentle jalapeño to the Carolina Reaper.
Pillar guide
The complete guide to chile peppers
Heat tiers, capsicum species, regional traditions, and how to pick the right pepper — the top-level map for the whole encyclopedia.
Pillar guide
Pepper substitutes reference
What to use when the recipe calls for a pepper you don't have. Curated swaps with ratios for every pepper in the encyclopedia.
Tool
Scoville scale
Every pepper plotted from mild to reaper on one visual scale.
Tool
Find a pepper
Filter by heat, flavor notes, and origin to find what fits your dish.
Tool
Compare two peppers
Side-by-side scoville, flavor, and which-to-use verdict.
The heat scale
Tap any pepper for its full guide →
0–2,500 SHU
north america
500–3K SHUHatch Green Chile
Also: New Mexico chile, Hatch chile
Earthy, roasted sweetness with a gentle, lingering warmth and a hint of smokiness.
Full profile →
mexico
1K–2K SHUPoblano
Also: poblano pepper, fresh ancho
Rich, earthy, slightly fruity heat — closer to a vegetable than a chile when fresh.
Full profile →
north america
500–3K SHUAnaheim
Also: anaheim pepper, California chile
Sweet, mildly vegetal, with a gentle warmth that lingers rather than punches.
Full profile →
mexico
1K–2K SHUAncho
Also: ancho chile, dried poblano
Dried fruit and chocolate — raisin, prune, slight smoke, with a gentle warmth.
Full profile →
mexico
1K–3K SHUPasilla
Also: chile pasilla, chile negro
Earthy, slightly bitter, with hints of dried herbs and dark berries — the deepest-tasting of the dried Mexican chile trinity.
Full profile →
east asia
50–200 SHUShishito
Also: shishi pepper, shishi-tougarashi
Vegetal, slightly sweet, and bright — with an unpredictable ~1-in-10 chance of significantly more heat.
Full profile →
europe
500–3K SHUPadrón
Also: padron pepper, pimientos de padrón
Vegetal and slightly fruity, with a mild grass-and-green-pepper character — and the well-known one-in-ten chance of meaningful heat.
Full profile →
europe
0–500 SHUBanana Pepper
Also: yellow wax pepper, Hungarian banana
Tangy, slightly sweet, mild with almost no perceptible heat — closer to a sweet pepper than a chile.
Full profile →
2,500–30,000 SHU
mexico
3K–8K SHUJalapeño
Also: jalapeño pepper, chipotle when smoked
Grassy, bright, and mildly vegetal with a clean, manageable heat.
Full profile →
mexico
10K–23K SHUSerrano
Also: serrano pepper, serrano chile
Bright, crisp, and grassy with a sharper heat than jalapeño.
Full profile →
mexico
3K–8K SHUChipotle
Also: chipotle pepper, chipotle en adobo
Deep, woody smoke with a moderate heat and a dried fruit complexity.
Full profile →
east asia
4K–8K SHUGochugaru
Also: Korean chili flakes, Korean red pepper
Smoky, sweet, and mildly fruity with a gentle warmth — the defining flavor of Korean cuisine.
Full profile →
mexico
3K–5K SHUGuajillo
Also: guajillo chile, chile guajillo
Berry-like, tangy, slightly fruity heat with a hint of green tea and pine.
Full profile →
north america
3K–10K SHUFresno
Also: fresno pepper, fresno chile
Bright, slightly fruity, with a clean medium heat — like a red jalapeño with more fruit and less vegetal character.
Full profile →
middle east
5K–10K SHUAleppo Pepper
Also: halaby pepper, halaby biber
Sun-dried tomato, raisin, dried-fruit smoke, and a slow-building moderate heat.
Full profile →
mexico
15K–30K SHUChile de Árbol
Also: chile de arbol, bird's beak chile
Clean, sharp heat with a slightly grassy, nutty backbone — direct and uncomplicated.
Full profile →
30,000–100,000 SHU
south america
30K–50K SHUCayenne
Also: cayenne pepper, red pepper
Dry, earthy heat with minimal fruit — the backbone of powdered chili and hot sauce.
Full profile →
southeast asia
50K–100K SHUThai Bird's Eye
Also: bird chili, prik kee noo
Sharp, bright heat with a clean finish and very little fruit character.
Full profile →
africa
50K–175K SHUPiri Piri
Also: peri peri, African bird's eye
Citrusy, bright heat with a slight sweetness and a lingering warm finish.
Full profile →
europe
25K–40K SHUCalabrian Chili
Also: Calabrian pepper, peperoncino
Rich, oily, slightly smoky heat with a fruity depth that's unique among European peppers.
Full profile →
south america
30K–50K SHUAjí Amarillo
Also: aji amarillo pepper, yellow chile
Uniquely tropical and fruity — passion fruit and mango notes — with a clean, vibrant heat.
Full profile →
100,000–500,000 SHU
south america
100K–350K SHUHabanero
Also: habanero pepper, red savina habanero
Intensely fruity and floral with a fast, aggressive heat that builds quickly.
Full profile →
caribbean
100K–350K SHUScotch Bonnet
Also: scotch bonnet pepper, bonney pepper
Sweet, fruity, and floral with a deep Caribbean heat that's rounder than habanero.
Full profile →
africa
125K–400K SHUFatalii
Also: fatali, fatalli
Intensely fruity — citrus, apricot, mango, and tropical floral notes — with a clean, sharp heat.
Full profile →
500,000–1.5M SHU
1.5M+ SHU
north america
1.4M–2.2M SHUCarolina Reaper
Also: HP22B, reaper pepper
Fruity, sweet entry followed by the most intense sustained heat of any widely available pepper.
Full profile →
caribbean
1.2M–2.0M SHUTrinidad Moruga Scorpion
Also: moruga scorpion, Moruga blend
Fruity sweetness that vanishes instantly as one of the most sustained, intense heats in existence takes over.
Full profile →
north america
2.7M–3.2M SHUPepper X
Also: pepper-x, X pepper
Earthy, slightly tropical first note that vanishes into the most intense sustained heat of any verified pepper.
Full profile →
north america
1.4M–1.9M SHU7 Pot Primo
Also: 7-pot primo, 7 pod primo
Sweet, slightly fruity entry that gives way to extreme sustained heat with a distinctive smoky finish.
Full profile →
caribbean
853K–1.9M SHU7 Pot Douglah
Also: chocolate 7 pot, 7 pod douglah
Earthy, smoky, slightly sweet — among the most complex flavors in the superhot tier.
Full profile →
europe
1.3M–1.4M SHUNaga Viper
Also: naga viper pepper, Cumbrian viper
Fruity, slightly sweet entry that yields rapidly to intense, near-immediate heat with little build-up.
Full profile →
europe
1.4M–2.2M SHUKomodo Dragon
Also: komodo dragon pepper, komodo dragon chili
Mild, almost sweet first impression that escalates into one of the most delayed and sustained heat profiles in the pepper world.
Full profile →
32
Peppers documented
6
Heat tiers
10
Origins worldwide