Why is chilli so hot?

The burning hotness from a chili fruit is due to the alkaloid called capsaicin, it is therefor chili is hot.

The more capsaicin in the chili the higher rate on the Scoville scale, which is used to measure the strength of peppers.
There is a higher concentration of capsaicin in seeds and placenta. Placenta is the thin walls inside the fruit to which the seeds are attached. You can choose to remove seeds and placenta before cooking and eating the chili fruit as this will reduce the hotness.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin is a very stable compound and though it is weakening a bit through cooking it keeps almost all of its strength – even all the way through the gastrointestinal tract.
Too hot? Here is the help!
Do you know the feeling – your mouth and throat are burning! You grab a glass of water and drink it all – but your mouth is still burning. Why? Because capsaicin is soluble in fat – so instead of water, you should drink high fat milk, coco milk or other drinks rich in fat. The capsaicin will attach to the fat molecules and be washed away from your mouth.

Wash your hands!

It is always a good idea to wash your hands and keep a high hygienic standard – but it is difficult to wash your hands good enough when you have handled chilli. If you touch your eyes it may hurt even hours after chopping the chillies for dinner. So the cure is too wash your hands with oil, butter or another greasy stuff first as this will remove the capsaicin– and then wash the grease of your hands with soap afterwards.
If you are so unlucky to get chilli in your eyes, you can try to rinse with milk

Burning or hurting?

I think we all consider chili as a spice, but it is not the taste buds that are activated when you eat chili – it is your pain system. Chili hurts! Actually capsaicin is a toxic substance, but it is so hot that you shouldn’t be able to eat enough to get intoxicated – only enough to get hurt!
So use chili with care, enjoy its fantastic flavour and be sure to have a glass of milk within reach – and maybe get a side effect of enhanced fat burning.

Sweating the kilos of with chili

Scientists have shown that capsaicin affects your muscle cells so they produce heat as when you are doing a work out. But when you eat your muscles are resting, so this might explain why capsaicin can help you to loose weight even though you don’t move. The experiment has been made with really high doses of capsaicin – more than you can eat naturally – so until the scientists have found a more workable way to administer the capsaicin remember to move anyway! It is fun and good for you – take a walk in the park and smell to some flowers, hug a tree or one of your dear ones – or grow some awesome chili plants, you can get your own chili plant with our Sprout Pencil Chili Knock Out Edition only in our webshop here.

Have fun with it – and make it sprout

Sprouting greetings

Green Thumb by Sprout

Helle Haugaard

Indlægget Why is chili hot? blev vist første gang den Sproutworld.