According to the Washington Post, around 40% of Americans say they like spicy foods. If you’re a part of that 40%, you’d probably be up for trying some of the spicier spices…or perhaps you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and want to know what spices to AVOID! What is the SPICIEST spice that you can use for cooking?
The spiciest spice for cooking is Carolina Reaper (a type of hybrid chili pepper) Powder, which is much spicier than cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper COMBINED!
Just how spicy is Carolina Reaper powder, and how does it compare to more common types of spices? We’ll reveal the answers next…
What are spices?
Spices come from certain plants and are used to flavor foods. Unlike herbs which come from the leafy green parts of the plants, spices typically come from the seeds, roots, bark, fruit (like peppers), and other vegetables like ground onion and garlic, which are used as spices culinary-wise.
Spices aren’t ALWAYS spicy, but they tend to be spicier than herbs which are milder and fresher in flavor. Some examples of herbs are mint and cilantro, while spices include dried pepper powders, cumin, black pepper, and cloves.
Measuring spiciness
Some of the spiciest spices come from ground chili peppers. However, there are THOUSANDS of types of chili peppers, ranging from sweet and not spicy bell peppers to hotter peppers like jalapenos.
That means that the spiciest spices come from certain varieties of chili peppers, and you’ll probably need to look online or in specialty stores to find some of them.
Spiciness is also a bit of a subjective thing – some people can handle quite a bit of heat when it comes to spicy foods, while others have a very low threshold. To make it more objective, we’ll use the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating, which rates peppers, hot sauce, and other spicy things with a scale. The higher the number, the hotter the spice.
For reference, a sweet bell pepper has a Scoville rating of 0 SHU, while jalapeno peppers have a Scoville rating of 2,500–8,000 SHU, depending on the type of pepper.
Spicy peppers get their spiciness from a compound called capsaicin, which is the compound that irritates your skin, tongue, and eyes.
What is the spiciest spice for cooking?
The spiciest spice for cooking is…(drumroll)…The Carolina Reaper pepper! This spicy pepper has a SHU of around 1,500,000 and as high as over 2 MILLION SHU!
The Carolina Reaper is a hybrid between a Habanero pepper and a Naga Viper chili pepper. You can find dried ground Carolina Reaper powder online. We looked up one on Amazon and it even has a warning on the label to not use it if you have heart or respiratory problems because of the intense heat that can result in coughing in some people (but hot peppers are unlikely to harm you in the vast majority of cases).
If you do end up trying Carolina Reaper powder, do so in very small amounts since it’s much hotter than more common chili powders like cayenne and crushed red pepper.
Spiciness of other cooking spices
Carolina Reaper powder is insanely hot, so we gathered up some of the more common spices to see how they compare in terms of heat.
| Spice | Scoville Heat Unit score |
| Cayenne pepper | ~30,000-50,000 SHU |
| Chili powder (mix of chili peppers and other spices) | ~3,000 SHU, but can vary depending on the type of pepper used |
| Crushed red pepper | 15,000-30,000 SHU |
| Jalapeno powder (dehydrated jalapenos) | 2,000-8,000 SHU |
| Paprika | 500-1,000 SHU |
How to offset spiciness in cooking
If you want to add some heat to your meals but don’t want it to be overwhelming, what are the best ways to offset spicier spices? There are a few ways!
- Add dairy: Ever wonder why spicy Mexican food is often served with sour cream or cheese? Or why drinking a glass of milk is supposed to help a scalded tongue? Milk has a protein called casein which helps bind to the capsaicin molecules that are responsible for causing the burning sensation.
- Add citrus! Acidic foods like citrus fruits (lemon, lime, etc.) help offset the heat from capsaicin by balancing the pH level.
- Add a little sugar. Sugar in any form (table sugar, honey, etc.) can help neutralize a dish’s spiciness.
- Utilize grains. Adding a starch like bread, rice, or pasta can help spread out the spiciness so it’s not so concentrated and overpowering.
FAQs:
Peppers like the Carolina Reaper (the hottest pepper) and habanero peppers are considered spicier than cayenne pepper.
A pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville created the Scoville Heat Scale in 1912. To determine the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) score, capsaicin from certain peppers was diluted in a sugar-water solution. The amount of the solution required to dilute the spice so it could no longer be detected by tasters determines the SHU score.
For example, no sugar water solution is required to mask the heat of bell peppers because they have no spice, while a large amount of the solution is required to dilute the spice of habaneros so that the spice is no longer detected. The higher the number, the spicier the spice!
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