Individual Spices

Hot Spices: Chile, Pepper, Ginger, and Horseradish Heat

Hot spices do not all burn the same way. Capsaicin in chiles builds and lingers, while the compounds in horseradish and wasabi rise into the nose and fade fast. These seven profiles cover black and white pepper, cayenne, chili flakes, ginger, horseradish and wasabi, and the Scoville scale measures chile heat only.