Hi Judy and all chileheads: According to Dave DeWitt in his book The Whole Chile Pepper Book, "the precise amount of capsaicin present in chiles can only be measured by a specialized laboratory procedure known as high pressure liquid chromatagraphy (HPLC), sometimes called high-performance liquid chromotography." Also, "home cooks wishing ot test their chiles will need to buy an Altex MOdel 322 Liquid Chromatography equipped with a solvent programmer and dual pumps." Unfortunately, and to my knowledge, he doesn't mention where one can be purchased. However, I suggest emailing him through the fiery foods web site. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help out. Sunny Conley http://www.chileknights.com Judy Howle wrote: > I got this recently and wondered if anyone can help. I can't even remember > the name of the equipment used to test for capsaicin. Does anyone have > access to one? > > >Hi! > > I read your discussion on Suite 101. My 11 year old son asked me if > >there was a way to test the "hotness" of a chili pepper. Do you know of > >any method (other than putting it in your mouth!) that can determine the > >heat? I found the ASTM standard (E1083-88 Standard Test Method for > >Sensory Evaluation of Red Pepper Heat) and will order it but I'm sure it > >involves scientific equipment and procedures more complicated that what > >is available in the home. My son would like to explore this question > >for his science fair project this year. Any information you have would > >be appreciated. > > > >Teri Kuwahara > > Thanks, > Judy "MsChile" Howle > > Flavors of the South; Recipes for "heat lovers" > http://www.ebicom.net/~howle > > Hot and Spicy Food Editor at Suite 101 > http://www.suite101.com/topics/page.cfm/462