Are you a fan of hot and spicy foods?!
With our own chile peppers almost ready to be picked, we started getting curious about what makes peppers spicy and why some peppers are "hotter" than others. Read on!
Food Science: What Makes Chile Peppers Spicy?
Turns out the culprit is a chemical called capsaicin. This chemical is concentrated in the inner white fibers of the chile pepper and also coats its seeds. The amounts found in the walls of the pepper are significantly less.
The perceived "heat" of the pepper results from both the amount and the specific type of capsaicin. High temperatures, drought conditions, and nearness to full ripening all contribute to high levels of capsaicin and a correspondingly intense burst of heat! Some chilis are also genetically built to produce more of the chemical.
The specific type of capsaicin in a pepper can also be traced back to genetic make-up. These kinds of capsaicin cause different perceptions of heat--from intense but brief, to a slow build over time.
Poblanos are generally considered to be on the mild end of the spectrum, while habaneros are sure to knock your socks off!
In cooking with chiles, remove the innards of the chile and use just the outer fruit--but save the seeds and inner white tissue! Keep tasting for heat, and then add in minced pieces of the white tissue or a few seeds as desired.
Remember, you can always add more chiles in, but you can't take them out!
What are you favorite kinds of chile peppers?
Related: In Praise of Red Pepper Flakes
(Image: Steaming Chili Pepper on Fork by Howard Sokol, $29.99 on AllPosters.com)
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Food Science, Ingredients - Vegetables, chili, spicy, pepper, chile, chilliRelated Links
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Comments (9)
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there was a pretty good episode of that Ted Allen (?) show on the Food Network about capsaicin (or moreso, the best ways to combat its effects)
view amt230's profile
Why are some people more sensitive to capsaicin than others? I've had a reaction to jalapenos, and I once had a terrible reaction after chopping thai chiles. My hands felt like they were on fire for hours and nothing would make it stop.
view gillsnthrills's profile
gillsnthrills,
I imagine it's like any other chemical sensitivity, like those to fragrances in detergents. Some have sensitive skin, while others have a problem with particular chemicals. Just make sure you never get pepper-sprayed, as capsaicin is the active ingredient in that too.
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
Michelle: that's a good principle to live by: make sure you never get pepper-sprayed.
view spossberg's profile
amt230 - Maybe you're thinking of the "Good Eats" (Alton Brown) episode about peppers? I forget what the episode was called but I remember the measurements of capsaicin...
Plus, Ted Allen's show doesn't start until tonight ;)
view SexyAnteater's profile
I saw the Good Eats pepper episode the other night and he mentioned a really great tip if you're super sensitive to the heat on your hands while chopping.
He said to frequently dip your hands into a bath of warm water and a small amount of bleach. The bleach reacts with the capsaicin and nutralizes it. Very handy tip indeed!
view revolution9's profile
spossberg,
LOL! I didn't realize just how outlandish that sounded 'til you pointed it out!
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
SexyAnteater - nope, I meant the Ted Allen show (Food Detectives). The pepper episode was part of the 5-second rule show. It started showing on the 27th at 11pm - see the bottom of the website:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ta
view amt230's profile
my bust, that link doesn't work:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ta/episode/0,3201,FOOD_31576_58461,00.html
view amt230's profile