2023-07-15 20:00:00
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Are you a lover of spicy? Or, on the contrary, do you hate the burning and uncomfortable sensation that it leaves in your mouth? Be that as it may, and even if you are the biggest fan in the world, surely at some point you have seen the need to want to eliminate as soon as possible burning caused by some food such as chillies, chili peppers or any other type of hot pepper.
Popular gossip, and each one’s own experience, confirm that, in these cases, the best remedy is not to drink water: the sensation it leaves in the mouth is much worse than before it was ingested. The ideal, in fact, is milk, and the explanation is, neither more nor less, than in a combination of the receivers that is in your mouth, a substance called capsaicin and the fat. We tell you how the alliance between these three elements is capable of freeing your mouth from those agonizing moments.
THE PERCEPTION OF TASTE
The food you eat is full of different elements and chemicals responsible for its taste. These, upon reaching the mouth, dissolve in the saliva, being transported throughout the mouth and reaching certain receivers located in the taste buds of the tongue and palate. Upon contact with them, the receptors are responsible for sending a signal to the brain, providing an identifying sensation of the food to be eaten.
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But the receptors can be of many types and only the combination of all of them is the one that gives the sensation of the complete taste. For example, there are receptors for texture, acidity, sweetness… But there are also smell receptorswhich, when combined with those of flavor, allow a full experience of flavor perception.
However, perhaps one of the most important is the pain receptors. This type is responsible for, for example, detecting food that is very hot and sending a strong sensation of pain before the burn occurs, trying to avoid damage to the mouth. Curiously, these are also the protagonists when we talk about the burning sensation due to spiciness.
CAPSAICIN
Thus, there are certain substances that are capable of interacting with those pain fibers and activating them, but achieving the emission of another type of response: one that is neither painful nor unpleasant. One of those substances is capsaicin, and that characteristic and singular sensation is that of spiciness. It is an element present in all kinds of hot peppers, such as chilli peppers, chili peppers or Padrón peppers.
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The capsaicin molecule, guilty of the sensation of itching in food
Capsaicin is capable of activating a type of pain receptors called TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Channel 1), which send a pleasant burning sensation and heat to the pain neurons, activating them. It is the same receptor that responds to temperatures greater than 42 degrees, which is why spiciness is identified with a burning sensation, as if the food were hot.
But of course, the most important characteristic of capsaicin is that it is a substance of a lipophilic nature, that is, it cannot dissolve in water and yes in oily liquids. In fact, if after ingesting spicy food, when capsaicin is accumulated in certain areas of these receptors, a liquid is ingested that does not dilute it, it is possible that it simply transports it through the rest of the mouth, reaching new places. and increasing the unpleasant sensation.
MILK: THE GREAT ALLY
Therefore, to remove capsaicin from the mouth, it is necessary to ingest a liquid that completely dilutes it: water will only spread it to other parts of the mouth and worsen the situation. And this is where milk comes into play: capsaicin is able to dilute in milk.to part more fat of the milkdetaching itself from the receptors in this way.
For this reason, whole or semi-skimmed milk, in which the presence of fat is greater, will always be better options than skimmed milk as remedies for discomfort caused by spicy foods. Also, they are not the only ones: any type of oily food, where the capsaicin can be diluted, will be a good solution. Therefore, oily liquids or fat emulsions will be equally useful resources.
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However, milk has a point in its favor that sets it apart from the rest: casein. This is a protein contained in dairy products capable of completely eliminating any remaining capseicin. Thus, once it is diluted, the casein encapsulates it, preventing it from coming into contact with any receptor in the mouth again, and allowing it to pass into the digestive tract, completely eliminating the burning sensation in the mouth.
GREATER OR LESS TOLERANCE
Although the perception of spiciness in food is something very subjective that depends on the tolerance of each individual and the way in which their pain receptors respond to capsaicin, there is an international “agreement” on the level of spiciness of each food. It’s about the Scoville scalewhich measures the heat of each edible in Scoville units, helping to give an estimated heat value.
In order to provide that value on a numerical scale, is based on the amount of capsaicin that exists in each food. To give you an idea of how it works, since 2013 the “Carolina Reaper” has been at the top of the scale. It is a cross between habanero chili and Naga Bhut Jolokia that has a heat value of 1.5 million Scoville units. Another closer example could be a very hot Padrón pepper, which would be around 5,000 Scoville units.
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