Guides
Longer reads on the science, craft, and history of pepper heat. The calculators answer how; these answer why.
The Scoville Scale, Properly Explained
The science, the history, what the numbers mean in practice, and why the same pepper varies 2-5x in heat.
~10 min readHow to Make Hot Sauce at Home
Pepper selection, fermentation vs quick-cook, acidity for safety, heat management, and troubleshooting.
~10 min readCapsaicin and Heat Tolerance
Why your mouth burns, why tolerance varies, and how to build yours over 4-8 weeks.
~10 min readGrowing Hot Peppers: Zones, Soil, and Stress
Capsaicin production is a stress response. What that means for growing your own, from zone 9 paradise to zone 5 containers.
~10 min readA Short History of Hot Peppers
From Bolivia to every continent in 500 years. Domestication, the Columbian Exchange, and the superhot arms race.
~10 min read