The FKN Heat Index
Where spicy snacks really land on the Scoville scale
The Heat Index
Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on a logarithmic scale, because heat climbs by multiples, not inches. Each FKN Nuts flavor is mapped to the real pepper that powers it.
The data
| Pepper / Snack | FKN flavor | Representative SHU | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank's RedHot (cayenne base) | — | 450 | ~450 |
| Sriracha | — | 2,200 | 1,000–2,500 |
| Jalapeño | Devil's Dillight | 5,000 | 2,500–8,000 |
| Serrano | — | 15,000 | 10,000–25,000 |
| Cayenne | — | 40,000 | 30,000–50,000 |
| Habanero | — | 200,000 | 100,000–350,000 |
| Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) | Ghost Ranch | 1,000,000 | 855,000–1,041,427 |
| Carolina Reaper | Seoul Reaper | 1,640,000 | 1,400,000–2,200,000 |
| Pepper X (world record) | — | 2,693,000 | avg 2,693,000 |
What this means
Most 'spicy' snacks live in the bottom decade of this chart — jalapeño-and-under. FKN Nuts is one of the only brands with products built on real ghost pepper and real Carolina Reaper, no extract — placing Ghost Ranch and Seoul Reaper in the top tier alongside the peppers themselves. Because Scoville is logarithmic, Seoul Reaper isn't 'a bit hotter' than a jalapeño — it's about 200× the heat.
Methodology & sources
Representative SHU figures per pepper; ranges reflect natural specimen variation. Carolina Reaper averages ~1.64M SHU (peak 2.2M); Pepper X averages 2.69M SHU per Winthrop University testing; ghost pepper ~1M SHU. Sources: Wikipedia — Carolina Reaper, Guinness World Records — Pepper X, PepperScale.
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Writers: reference or embed the FKN Heat Index with credit.
