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Post by dld on Feb 19, 2010 8:48:12 GMT -5
What causes the heat, seeds or membrane? And what do you use to curb the lava flow when eating peppers?
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peppereater
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just tell me when to shut up
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Post by peppereater on Feb 19, 2010 10:37:48 GMT -5
Rich, there are a lot of things some "experts" claim. Generally, the membrane is considered the major source of the heat. In my opinion, the seeds also contain a great deal of the heat, although whether that is due to membrane remnants on the seed, or whatever, I don't know exactly why. I believe that both seeds and membrane contain the greatest concentrations of heat, and that the flesh has significant amounts of capsaicin as well. Take a tiny bit at the tip of a really hot pepper, without breaking through the flesh into the interior chamber, and it will light you up...there surely isn't "membrane" in that minute piece of flesh. You can definitely remove the most intensely hot parts, though, by removing seeds and membrane. As for quenching the heat, never expect beer or any carbonated beverages to do it, it only makes it worse. Milk actually diffuses the oils that contain capsaicin, sometimes biting a lemon or lime can help, and I believe that chocolate milk is better than regular milk, but that's just my opinion. The fats in milk are probably the reason it helps, capsaicin is in oils in the pepper, milkfat is essentially oily, and acts as a solvent to dillute the pepper oils. Water and oil do not mix, so no solvent effect. Citrus contains lots of acid, and if I recall, the capsaicin is alkaline, so acids help to neutralize the chemical.
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stratcat
Tomato Fanatic
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Post by stratcat on Feb 19, 2010 12:17:11 GMT -5
What peppereater says.
I was looking this up last night in Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. I have some experimental purple peppers that don't have heat early on and then get really hot and I wondered why.
Ashworth says "The highest concentrations of capsaicin are found in the pepper's interior walls (placental walls).The outer wall and even the immature seeds are rather mild until the capsaicin matures and is shed internally."
When the heat level goes over the top, I use milk, cottage cheese or yoghurt.
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landarc
Global Moderator
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Post by landarc on Feb 19, 2010 14:21:50 GMT -5
Sugar helps with heat. Hence the effectiveness of chocolate milk. Also why Asian pepper sauces are so popular, the sweet red sauces.
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BrianS
New Member
Pepper Growing Fool!
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Post by BrianS on Feb 19, 2010 14:41:21 GMT -5
Milk or crackers helps put the fire out. The burning mouth isnt what gets me, its my stomach. I cant eat as much fire as I used to but I still get a good burn every few days. Bhut Jolokias anyone?
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Post by gardenfrog on Mar 11, 2010 0:52:15 GMT -5
Bhut Jolokia is one of those peppers that starts quasi-mild then hits you with a vengence!
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Post by vixen on Mar 12, 2010 20:32:07 GMT -5
I hear the Fatalii is the same way. quasi mild then bam... I am going to grow some fataliis for the first time this year. Maybe I wont post on here after August because of its name...
I may not even eat them. I am scared.. seriously scared to eat one.
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Post by grapenut on Mar 24, 2010 3:37:23 GMT -5
I hear the Fatalii is the same way. quasi mild then bam... I am going to grow some fataliis for the first time this year. Maybe I wont post on here after August because of its name... I may not even eat them. I am scared.. seriously scared to eat one. One year I bought,what was suppose to be, a bell pepper, but once fruit set I knew it was not. it was about 3 or 4 inches long and about as big around as my thumb, I plucked one, just to see how it tasted, and it at that moment , was the best tasting pepper I had ever tasted...then the heat kicked in, got hot, then wicked hot, then I panicked and ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off. as soon as I was able to regain my senses, I then promptly went over to the plant, yanked it out of the ground and put it in the trash without a second thought.
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Post by grapenut on Jul 10, 2010 2:03:33 GMT -5
bump!
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 10, 2010 9:36:49 GMT -5
What does bump mean? I see it alot and have no clue.
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Penny
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Post by Penny on Jul 10, 2010 14:25:03 GMT -5
I keep the packets of sugar handy here, if they get too hot, grab a sugar packet and it helps.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jul 10, 2010 14:32:36 GMT -5
What does bump mean? I see it alot and have no clue. It means someone is Bumping the post up to the top of the forum so it doesn't get lost. Must like this one and was hoping for more activity on it.
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 10, 2010 19:53:23 GMT -5
So that is what bump means, okay, thanks.
Now, what are you going to do with the sugar Penny? Sprinkle it on them? Won't that just make it hot and sweet?
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jcm05
Administrator
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Post by jcm05 on Jul 12, 2010 6:34:14 GMT -5
Posts don't get "lost" here like they do at goofball-web. No need to bump threads really unless grapenut was just looking for more people to respond to the thread.
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Penny
Tomato Fanatic
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Post by Penny on Jul 12, 2010 6:38:13 GMT -5
So that is what bump means, okay, thanks. Now, what are you going to do with the sugar Penny? Sprinkle it on them? Won't that just make it hot and sweet? No....if you eat a HOT pepper stright out of the garden, and its too much heat, eat some sugar and it kills the burn.
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