Home Hot Healing Medicine Pepper Facts Spice Usage Recipes Chiliman’s Homepage Useful Links Maumee Bay Spice Co. P.O. Box 13276 Toledo, Ohio 43613 GET YOURS HERE   Chile Pepper Facts        Chile peppers are members of the capsaisin family of vegetables.  They are vegetables when they are fresh off the plant, and when dried and ground, they become spices.  Chile peppers were first introduced to the United States in the 16th century.  They are considered condiments and some of the most versatile spices in all major world cuisines.  Cultures from Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Korean, right down the the good ole Tex-Mex we enjoy right here in the United States all use chiles in their recipes. Heat Measurement.      Pepper hotness is measured on a scale in scoville units, so named for the scale’s inventor Wilbur L. Scoville.  Mr. Scoville worked for the pharmaceutical company Parke Davis.  In 1912 he developed the Scoville Organoleptic test, which was a scientifically administered taste test using human testers.  Today high pressure liquid chromatography is used to measure capsaisin levels in parts per million, which is then converted to scoville units.