
Habaneros are small (.8-2.5 inch), orange-red chili peppers with a thin skin and wrinkled shape. They are the spiciest chili pepper, next to the "ghost chili." Spicy heat is rated on what's called the "Scoville scale," which measures the capscaisin content in a pepper. Capscaisin is a chemical compound that stimulates nerve receptors and enables us to hence feel the "pain" or spicy heat of chilis, and the highest concentration in peppers is found in the seeds and pulp. To put this in perspective, pimentos or peperoncinis have a rating of 100-500 SHUs (Scoville heat units). Jalapenos have a rating of 2,500-8,000 and habaneros have a rating of 350,000-600,000. As I mentioned before, the ghost pepper is the only chili spicier than a habanero, and it has a rating of 855,000-1,000,000 SHUs. FYI, pepper spray has a rating of around 5 million SHUs. I've never experienced pepper spray, or a ghost chili for that matter, and frankly i dont want to! Habaneros are damn spicy enough.

